I promised a fluff piece, and here it is for your reading pleasure.
Almost every single morning, I take my puppy for a walk. Depending on the day we will go as little as a mile, or as much as three miles. Factors including weather, her behavior, my health, time limits, and such. Still, it is a nice way to start the day, by moving with a cute puppy through the neighborhood. We've had our Jersey girl for almost a year a now. She's 50 pounds of muscle. Lean, fast, and friendly as can be. She wants nothing more than to race around and say hello to as many people, dogs, cats, birds, lizards, or insects as possible. We can't let her make friends with everyone, though, so I keep her on a short leash. Literally. Jersey has four feet of freedom from my side. And sometimes that is harder than it looks. We often pass by other people, dogs, and cats. I don't mind walking past the dogs in fences lately. My pup has become more aware that she must not pull or tug to sniff the buddy on the other side of the vinyl. Quite often she simply walks by, even when she whines to her furry friends, "If Mama wasn't walking with me!" I usually try to tell her, "They're just jealous you get to walk around the neighborhood while their stuck in their yard." You know, because she totally understands what I'm saying. Recently, we were walking and passed multiple cats. Ugh, my hands and shoulders are not fans. Still, it made me think. There's a cat that is found outside all the time. People know who the cat belongs to. The owners claim him. They tell us he's allowed to venture into the unknown and that he finds his way back (with cat dementia no less). I can't help but think how careless that is. I mean, I believe animals can get by on their own. They have for thousands of years. Our domestication of them has hindered their abilities more than anything, but if left to their own, they can survive. But then, what's the point? We see the cats roaming the hood and think of their freedom. Does my dog get jealous that cats wander about without leash? Do they seek the same autonomy? Possibly. I think my dog's main concerns are water, food, and snuggles. But I'm sure she'd like a chance to wander alone. That's why she escapes from the house whenever she can and runs in a full out sprint through neighboring yards. And every time, I get upset with her. These animals are showing me a picture of God's love for us. There are people that are left in their yards and that is their only outside time. They don't experience what's in the world. I see this as a problem. Just like dogs need space to exercise and stretch their legs, Christians need to be in the world (not of it) in order to spread God's love and build the kingdom. But still, we cannot simply wander the neighborhoods like the cats. We claim we have a home that we go back to for food, but often the neighbors feed them or give them attention. We cannot look to the world to feed us spiritually, it will mess up the diet plan that will keep us healthy. I walk my dog through the neighborhood on a leash. I can't trust her, yet, to walk beside me without the leash. She'll chase anything that grabs her attention. But I hope one day to be able to have her well trained enough to walk with me and be satisfied with walking by my side. She knows where her food and water dishes are. She knows I'll show her love and affection. But she is still immature and wants to find out what the world has to offer her. I keep her on the leash so she doesn't get hit by a car, or get in a fight with another dog. God, too, allows us a leash, if you will. But he doesn't put it on us. We must. We must agree to harness ourselves and let him hold the leash so that when we get distracted by the things of the world he can gently pull us in the direction we need to go. Hopefully, eventually, we do not need the leash. Hopefully, we are willingly walking alongside him despite what is going on. Hopefully, we can be an example of how to walk and how to live for those that see us. My dog does not have a choice in whether or not she has a leash. Not yet, anyway. But we do. We can tether ourselves to a God who does not fail, is just, is on time, is faithful and steady, or we can wander from fence to fence looking for the next thing to occupy us. It is our choice.
1 Comment
Catherine
7/28/2022 05:52:34 am
Great analogy! We have an 11 week old puppy and we have to keep the leash on him even in the house now. Sometimes though, you keep the leash on/try to guide our children, then when they are finally let go, they go nuts in the world and want to be with the world. I learned that the hard way with my 2 eldest daughters.
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