TOBY-Ministry Requires Sacrifice

Toby was one of my best friends as a little girl. Dad got him when I was about 4 years old. He was a beautifully marked Springer Spaniel. Dad would take him for walks with me around the property to train him. He was a bright dog who picked up on commands pretty quickly.

When dad wasn’t around, Toby stayed chained up to a dog house. I used to ask my mother if I could go outside and play with him. She tells me I did this often. I would practice teaching him to “sit” or “shake” or “lay down.” I felt pretty powerful as a little girl commanding a dog who was just about as big as me. Sometimes, I’d crawl inside his dog house and lay down with him. I just liked being near him. I would hug him and pet him. Sometimes, I’d even sing to him. Once in a while, when we had a roast with a bone in it, I’d get to take the bone out to him when we were finished eating.

Toby was a friendly dog. When the neighborhood children would come to play, they’d always go over to say hi to Toby and pet him. He’d greet everyone with a lick on the hand with a tail wagging. He was an unusually friendly dog. Sometimes we’d play close to the dog house just to include Toby.

I still remember the day my parents told me that we were going to have to sale Toby. I cried and cried. They explained that since dad was called to be a preacher, we’d have to move so he could go to school. That day that the new owner came to pick Toby up is still etched in my memory. Dad and mom tried to get the new owner to tell me about the big farm he had for Toby to live on. He said Toby would get a lot of time going hunting and doing what he loved to do. I listened politely for a while until the tears welled up to the point they flowed down my cheeks. When I began to sob, I went back into the house because I didn’t want to cry like that in front of a stranger. I also didn’t want to have to watch him loading up Toby and driving away with him.

This was the first memory I have of feeling the cost of being in ministry. Ministry requires sacrifice. God never promised it would be easy. He did promise that He’d give us the strength and courage to make the sacrifice. This was a valuable lesson to learn, as a lifetime of ministry was awaiting me.