That's Gross - or Is It?

While visiting my grand kids up the mountain this week, their gentle old dog began licking my ankle. Earlier this week, I had been bitten by fire ants while working in the garden. Beau, their dog, was meticulously licking my ant bites that were now open and itchy. I didn't want to be mean, so I tried just stepping away. He wanted to follow, so I had to go farther than he wanted to walk. Gross, right? 

This wasn't the first time I had seen dogs lick human sores. I remembered the story of Lazarus (Luke 16:21), I wrote about last week. The poor man who lay at the rich man's gate had sores licked by the dogs. It made me wonder why dogs would do that and what were the benefits or risks. 

Google always seems to have the answer at our fingertips, so I "googled it." It seems the practice of using dogs to heal wounds originated in Egypt, not that dogs hadn't always licked. In Biblical days, dogs were not man's best friend. They were basically a nuisance, but I wondered if the dogs actually soothed and helped Lazarus. Did God send the dogs to comfort him by licking his wounds? 

It seems saliva, yours, mine and the dog's, contain antibacterial qualities which may keep down infection. The dog's rough tongue cleans away dirt and debris that may cause infection. There are other helpful things in dog saliva, but read on.

There are people who GOT infections from dog licks, so all is not well. I guess the point is, there were no antibiotic medicines before WWII. God created a world to work in cinque - together. Many of "the old folks" practiced wild crafting - gathering medicinal herbs.

Medicines are a gift from God. I'm not questioning that. I'm just amazed how He made a universe to work so perfectly in cinque that it actually survived and thrived for approximately 6000 years. Amazing!! 

What unique and amazing things have you observed that made you wonder - "How does that work?" - "Why did that happen?"

Hey Kids: 

Remember those ant bites? There's a plant growing in your yard that helps with the burn and itch. It's also good for poison oak/ivy and bee stings. 

It's called plantain. No, it's not a banana plant.

photo thanks to pixabay.com

It's easy to find. Just crush the leaves and rub them on the bite or itchy spot. Ahhhh, comfort. 

What other plants or animal oddities have "the old folks" found helpful?

Ask them about yellow root and spider webs. 

 And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day. Genesis 1:31

We would be blessed if you shared your findings and photos. 

Blessings,

Gail

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