Author Confessions: What My Dogs Teach Me About My Relationship With God, Part 2 of 7
If you haven’t read my previous post you can it here.
UNIQUENESS
As you will see in upcoming posts, each of my dogs are unique in so many ways. It is a delight to explore that with them and watch them express themselves and teach me different things about them, and God. How dare I try to compare myself to anyone else when God has also made me unique and delightful? We all have our own quirks and unique journey in life and I need to embrace that, just as I have welcomed and embraced these dogs.
I want to start going into each of my dogs individually. Not all in one post, but they all have different things to teach me.
First up is Spatzle. I got him at 4 years of age. He had been surrendered by his owners because “He barked too much.” He didn’t bark at all for months.
NO PLAN
Dogs live fully in whatever moment they find themselves. They will try to let me know if they need to go out because they’ve been trained to, but once outside even relieving themselves might need to wait until they sniff around, or check for other people around who might pet them. If the weather is bad, however, getting their business done and coming back into the house are the plan. They trust me to lead them on a walk or to feed them and because I leave food out and they can eat when they are hungry.
SUBMISSION
When training a dog, one has to establish who is the boss, or the alpha. The dog learns the rewards of submitting (usually a treat or praise) and the consequences of disobedience (no treat or sometimes, I’ll be honest, a scold).
God is the ultimate Alpha. He is King of the Universe. He is above and beyond anything grand my finite brain can fathom, yet how often do I fail to seek His face?
My sin is exponentially worse than my dog peeing or pooping in the house. I can clean up those, and sometimes the consequences of my own sin are that easy to manage. If my dog escapes the leash thinking freedom is wonderful, and refuses to come when I call, it could mean his death if he were hit by a car or some other tragedy befalls him or her.
God will always be there, no matter what the consequences and His love never ends no matter how egregious a sin I might commit. He will not always rescue me from the consequences of that sin. Not that He couldn’t, like if I cannot grab my dog before a car runs it over, but because He allows the natural world to run its course and nothing is ever wasted, even my suffering due to my own failure to submit to the One Who loves me best.
ONE ON ONE TIME
Spatzle was a Maltese mix, part Maltese, part Shih Tzu. We rescued him on Valentine’s Day which was also my middle Hobbit’s birthday. He cried all the way home. Three hours of non-stop whining no matter how much we petted him. He also didn’t poop for days!
He quickly adjusted to our home and made himself comfortable and chose me as his person. The breed can be known for separation anxiety. Spatzle was respectful. He rarely had an accident in the house and never chewed up things he wasn’t supposed to. He did bark, and was most vocal with the postal carrier. I suspect he couldn’t understand why that person wasn’t staying to give him some love.
Initially Spatzle would rush to the door when I came home, and bark incessantly to be picked up. I refused to do that until I had set stuff down or hung up my coat. Then, I would give him my attention. I would pick him up and snuggle and then he was fine and would run off to keep guard against any mail deliveries.
Eventually he understood I would come for him and he would run to wait for me in the living room, on the sofa. Once I got in there, I would grab his favorite toy and we would play tug of war, with me often spinning him around on the hardwood floors. Oh, he absolutely loved that! He would eventually win the war and jump back to the sofa with his prize. We were both happy.
When he grew older, he didn’t have the energy for that and he would bark at first and then wait for me to come and acknowledge him.
Spatzle trusted that I didn’t forget about him, and that I loved him. How much more do I need wait for God to reveal Himself to me? It might be in a different way in different seasons. His love is constant and He delights in time spent with me. Seeing me happy to be with Him, makes God’s heart happy too.
I love looking at what my dogs teach me about my relationship with God. Do you resonate with any of these?
Ask God for the next best step to take right now.
A wise person confronted me last week, telling me I’m too hard on myself. I expect too much of me, and can be overly critical when I don’t reach my own unrealistic expectations. Be present. Live in the moment.