This weekend our family went to the park. We spent some time riding bikes, feeding ducks, and monkeying around on the play equipment.
It was a fairly nice day (for early spring) so there were a lot of families at the park, and many of them brought their dogs. My six-year-old son Caden, who is friendly and likes animals, asked pet owner after pet owner if he could pet their dogs. With his requests and friendliness, he met a lot of new canine friends.
That is, until he got close to a fat little chihuahua. Their first greeting was positive--the dog sniffed Caden's hand and allowed him to pet it. Later on, though, when he bent down with his face and body near the dog, the dog growled and snapped at his outstretched hand.
Whether Caden moved quickly and frightened the dog, or whether it was over-excited by the activity at the park, I don't know. (Or, like most of the chihuahaus I've met, maybe it wasn't very good with children.) Caden rose up and walked to my husband, bravely holding back the tears--at least, until he pressed into the strength and comfort of Daddy.
"The dog doesn't like me," he said through his tears.
Yes, the unexpected attack had frightened him. But what hurt even more, I think, was the rejection he received. He tried to share his friendship with the dog, and the dog bit back instead of accepting and returning that friendship.
This was not the first time he experienced the pain of rejection. Nor will it be the last. My prayer is that we as parents will be able to help him (and our other children) process those feelings, take them to the Lord, and grow stronger from the experience.
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