Daisy & Simon

There’s a great youtube video floating around about Daisy, a yellow Lab puppy, learning to go down stairs. Her owner videoed what became an adorable moment between Daisy and Simon, the adult yellow Lab in the family home.

Daisy has made one attempt at the stairs and is whining and pacing at the top. Simon hears, enters Daisy’s world and quickly navigates the stairs, showing Daisy how easy it is.

She doesn’t buy it.

So, Simon goes and stands by Daisy. Together they look over the precipice and Daisy puts both front paws on the first step. Simon does the same, pausing beside Daisy before walking, more slowly this time, down the rest of the stairs. Daisy stays on the first step, stuck. Then she decides to back up to the landing.

Simon returns to the landing and walks Daisy back to the edge. He goes down two stairs, turns around and blocks the rest of the stairs with his body, and looks back for Daisy. Then he slowly, slowly, slowly goes down the stairs, demonstrating again what she too can do.

She remains on the landing.

As I watched this, I thought about how different people demonstrate patience as they walk with friends who are on a personal faith journey. Some hear a friend voice a concern and recognize the fear in their voice. They model patience as they coax the friend through those fears toward faith. If the friend backs away, they don’t walk away. They go to where they are and gently walk them to the edge, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with them as together they survey the opportunity. They show their friend but don’t push them to commit. When they are ready to take the leap, they’re right beside them, guiding them into their new life.

Simon does the same for Daisy. He demonstrates one more time and then Daisy is convinced. Or so it seems. She gets halfway down the stairs and stops, so Simon comes over to her, mouths something in her ear, and she takes another step. He coaxes her again and she takes another step until she is finally at the bottom of the stairs! Three cheers for Daisy!

As happens, people take original videos and adapt them. Shortly after I saw the original, someone posted an addendum to it that showed two cats facing the same dilemma. After witnessing the patience of Simon, we now see a younger cat, poised at the top of an attic ladder stairs and an adult cat just near her, looking on. Young kitty tentatively steps down the first two steps, then looks to the other cat, for—what I can only guess is—encouragement. But big cat reaches out its paw and not so gently nudges kitty down the rest of the stairs. A great crash is heard on the video.

Which way do you want to bring people along in their faith journey? Patiently, encouragingly, like Simon, or pushy, like the cat?

Pamela Klein
On Q Editor

Disclaimer: Owner of 3 beloved cats during  my lifetime –Georgette, Otis and Sunday, in addition to a menagerie of dogs– this post is not intended, in any way, to diss the unique temperament of our feline friends.