Wednesday, March 16, 2016

Make Me More Like... that DOG???

Ahhh, it is so nice to welcome the arrival of real spring-like weather in Michigan.
I daily check the progress of various flowers which are popping through the dirt.
It would seem that the snow shovels may now be safely stored away.
Annnnnd, I took Mindy for a nice long walk.

I enjoy walking the dog. It gives me good time to be alone and quiet, to think thoughts, to pray, to dream, and to mentally compose blog-posts. Besides, the exercise is good for both of us!
But I enjoy our walks the most when God does something which speaks to my heart.

Saturday while we were walking, Mindy and I encountered another dog. Now, Mindy doesn't know how to play nicely with other dogs and gets very anxious around them. So when we were within 20 yards of the other dog, I tightened up on her leash and took her to the edge of the sidewalk. She was pulling at the leash, trying to jump at her peer, practically turning flips in the midst of all her angst. Meanwhile, the other dog (a great big Black Lab) just meandered on by with his master - not even on a leash - seemingly unaware of the feisty little hound which resembled a cat on hot bricks.
The other dog-owner and I exchanged greetings as we passed by, and that could have been the end of it. Except, God kept the scene playing over and over in my mind as I continued walking. It struck me how that Lab was so calm and, yet, so focused. So focused, it seemed, on walking with his master. On keeping his eyes on the path. Not getting flustered by peripheral distractions. Just keeping in step with his master. Attached only by faith and loyalty.
And I thought, Yes, Lord. That, right there, is a picture of how I want to be with You. I want to trust You so much that I will walk fearlessly by Your side. I want to be so confident in Your care that I don't even notice the disturbances in the distance which aim to intimidate me. I want my faith in You to run so deep that my only concern is staying with my Master. Yes, Lord. Please make me more like that...dog. Yeah.

Karen

2 comments:

Leah Adams said...

Wonderful analogy, Karen. I want to be focused on Jesus, not distracted by the mess going on around me.

Karen Hossink said...

Leah - I thought about this again today when walking Mindy. When I was tugging the leash, coaxing her to come with me, I asked God to help me be an obedient and willing follower of Him. #somuchroomtogrow