Finding Faith ... in a beautiful friendship founded on a simple stick

EDITOR'S NOTE: In October 2021 I began a new venture writing a newspaper column titled "Finding Faith" for the Forum Communications Co. network of newspapers and websites. I was asked to contribute to the company's ongoing conversation about faith, lending a Lutheran and fairly ecumenical approach to the discussion. The column was published in several of the company's papers and websites, including The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead. This column originally appeared as a "Finding Faith" column on June 13, 2025.

"Howie" can't pass up a good stick! Even when it's offered by a stranger!

By The Rev. Devlyn Brooks

I’ve written about our 3-year-old husky mix rescue before. About his anxieties which make him seem less than friendly, and frankly which have inspired a curse word or two around home.

But the other night I witnessed him make a new friend in the most beautiful of ways.

I walk our dogs on the same route I have used for the past 11 years. So, "Howie" has walked by this particular house hundreds of times. And it just so happens that our neighbor living there often is coming and going to his car or working in his yard on the same schedule as our evening walks. 

Well, "Howie" can come off as quite an irritable crank when coming across new people in public. His anxieties peak when someone new comes near, and his first instinct is to bark and take a defensive posture.

And this gracious man has endured this on multiple occasions when he has tried to say hello to “Howie.”

However, a few nights ago, the neighbor was in his side yard, trimming trees and such. This time, "Howie" was curious enough to creep within about a foot of the man, and rather than become the grouch he normally does, Howie laid down and took to chewing on one of the branches that lay at the man’s feet.

Now, "Howie" is a big, big fan of sticks. And when I shared this, the neighbor reached down and offered our little grumpster a stick. My, oh my. You’d have thought that the veil between heaven and earth had parted!

"Howie" gratefully took the stick, and almost simultaneously dropped on his side for belly scratches. That was it; "Howie" had a new friend. … I mean, if the man was smart enough to understand the value of a good stick, he couldn’t be all that bad. Right?

The next night the neighbor was outside again. This time "Howie" even let him pet him and gave him scratches behind the ears. So it seems the stick trick was no fluke. "Howie" generally likes our neighbor now!

I chalk this all up to the Holy Spirit, of course. Because who else could utilize a stick for such clever purposes?

But more importantly, the episode has got me thinking: After all, I’ve been reading a lot lately about the loneliness crisis we’re all facing.

I haven’t worked out all the theological details yet, but I’m certain Howie’s new friendship offers us faithful people something to ponder. Who are we in this story? Are we the neighbor reaching out with an offer of friendship (a stick!)? Or are we Howie, the reluctant recipient?

Weighty stuff for sure, which is providing me something wonderful to dwell on during our walks.

But I think the bottom line is that friendship is good even when it’s brokered by a good stick. Amen. 

Devlyn Brooks is the CEO of Churches United in Moorhead, Minn., and an ordained pastor in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America serving Faith Lutheran Church in Wolverton, Minn. He blogs about faith at findingfaithin.com, and can be reached at devlynbrooks@gmail.com.