floppy toe

Why hasn't God fixed me yet?

Rocco is a very cute dog. Often when we’re out walking, people will stop their cars and mention how pretty he is. If we’re eating outside at a restaurant, it is pretty much guaranteed that our meal will be interrupted multiple times by passers-by who can’t help but say hi.

What follows are some pictures of Rocco’s best features, according to me:

His tail, which is always wagging and often hits me in the face when we are sitting on the couch. Here is a picture of his tail wagging so fast that it disappeared.

Next, we have his ears. These express his emotions in a truly impeccable way.

he did not like the socks.

Lastly, we have his nose, which is multi-colored and symmetrical and I could look at it forever. It’s mesmerizing and I don’t understand it but I love it. If you look at his chest right below his collar, you can also see his little swirl of fur and I love that too.

These are all of the cute features that Rocco has. However, he also has a very strange feature: one dew claw on one of his hind legs. Basically, it’s an extra toe that is kind of high up on his leg. It sticks out and it flops around and I try really hard not to look at it because it’s weird and makes me uncomfortable.

Behold: the floppy toe.

Just like when people stop to adore Rocco’s ears or nose or his wagging tail, whenever someone notices his dew claw, they will often exclaim, “WHAT IS THAT?!”

Dear friend, it is a dew claw and you better believe I have questions for God about it.

Oftentimes dew claws are removed when puppies are young, but Rocco’s wasn’t. There’s a debate in the veterinary community about it. If it gets caught on something, it can cause serious injury but other than that, it’s just cosmetic. Some people think it’s wrong to remove a dog’s appendage simply because it looks weird.

I don’t know about you, but there are parts of myself that I wish would have been removed when I was younger. Not my body so much, but parts of my personal history, my mild social awkwardness, my tendency toward blind ambition and attention, etc. etc. etc..

God could have removed these things. He could have prevented my past trauma. He could have made it so that I only developed healthy coping mechanisms for life’s struggles. He could have fostered humility in me from a young age.

But just like Rocco’s vet, He didn’t.

St. Paul said that he had a “thorn in his flesh” and that he asked God to remove it three times. Now, I don’t know about you, but there are some things that I have asked God to take out of my life *a whole lot more* than three times.

God’s response is, “My grace is enough for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” His power. Is made perfect. In weakness. oof.

Those parts of ourselves that we want God to fix or remove, that’s where He says His power is coming to fruition in us. If He were to cut it off, He would be cutting off the parts of our hearts and minds and lives where He is most able to live in us. It’s good that He doesn’t cut it off… it’s holy ground.

I’m not so sure that God really has a plan for Rocco’s floppy toe, but it’s an interesting reflection. To close, here is a picture of Rocco when he fell asleep sitting up on a road trip this summer. It’s adorable.