As a supplement to this week’s podcast (using that term loosely) and the chapter in my book, I’m going to write about dogs – but this time focusing on something that I don’t like about mine. I have two dogs, Marley and Izzy, who could be classified as “hot mess” dogs. Marley is a senior, lazy, chubby shit zu (I can never spell and am too lazy to look it up) that thinks he is a cat and sleeps 22 hours a day. Izzy is a four-year-old Wheaton Terrier who loses all control around other dogs. They are both very stubborn (with a little bit of cray cray) and often don’t do what I say.
I realize that this is much about me as it is about them as I didn’t do a good job with training. Izzy and I went to a dog training class, and we got put in time out – and the instructor made me demonstrate being the dog in front of the class because I wasn’t getting it. Needless to say, we dropped out. I wasn’t that great at training my kids in some areas either. One of my daughters was nearly four before she potty trained. I kept encouraging her by saying “don’t you want to wear big girl panties?” She would emphatically say “no”, I want diapers!
Anyhow, back to the dogs. Taking a walk with my dogs is quite challenging. Izzy pulls me from the front, and I drag Marley behind. I play doggy dodgeball, avoiding other dogs, because Izzy goes crazy, pulls, and spins around when they pass. She also goes after bikes, scooters, and golf carts but is afraid of the vacuum cleaner. Go figure? At the same time, Marley likes to smell everything and pees 50 times while we are walking. He will also stop in his tracks and refuse to move at least a couple of times.
So, it’s clear that I have failed at training my dogs. But it made me think that God tries to train and guide us to be more like Jesus. He is a much better trainer than I am, but we are just as stubborn and difficult as my dogs at times. We often ignore His guidance and “pull the leash” the way we want to go according to our plans. I know I get impatient and irritated when my dogs (and family members) don’t follow my guidance. The good news is that God loves us and waits patiently for us, welcoming us back home when we go or behave the wrong way. Luke 15 shares parables about the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the prodigal son. Just as a shepherd will search long into the night for one sheep that has gone astray, so the Lord God rejoices over the salvation of just one lost person
I’m not 100% sure what my point is here but I guess it is a reminder that we should follow God’s guidance. If we do stray, we know that God is merciful and will always welcome us back. Is this post going to help me with my dogs? Probably not. I am considering doggy boot camp for Izzy. Maybe we all need a Jesus boot camp to set us straight!
Go and shout this message to my people in the countries in the north. Tell them, ‘Come back to me, wayward Israel,’ says the Lord. ‘I will not continue to look on you with displeasure. For I am merciful,’ says the Lord. ‘I will not be angry with you forever. Jeremiah 3:12
