Cutest.
Dog.
Ever.
Dog.
Ever.He is also quite smart. He can sit, stay, wait, shake, high five, roll over, speak, etc. I got him when he was 7 weeks old and only one pound. We have pretty much been inseparable ever since. Now by inseparable I may mean to say that he has a slight attachment problem.
He follows me pretty much everywhere. He has the strangest habit of dragging various clothing items of mine into his crate to sleep with and will literally growl, even at me, if he think they're going to be taken away. He also tends to pout in disappointment when I leave him… Okay, that might be a generous term. Maybe ‘gets very angry’ is a better one.
He follows me pretty much everywhere. He has the strangest habit of dragging various clothing items of mine into his crate to sleep with and will literally growl, even at me, if he think they're going to be taken away. He also tends to pout in disappointment when I leave him… Okay, that might be a generous term. Maybe ‘gets very angry’ is a better one.
Here's a fine example of his anger:
Ridiculous. Needless to say, he stays in his crate when I am gone. This may seem very off topic and random but if I’m being honest it reminds me of us. Think of it this way, when we want to be around God, we follow after him and sit, spend time with Him and desire his attention. But when times get hard or our desires don’t exactly line up with God’s, most of us turn to destructive coping methods. We don’t like the circumstances so we decide, I’m gonna do what I want to do. We instantly jump to satiate this urge of loneliness or heartache or difficulty in OUR way, despite the repercussions in the long run.
When God disappoints us we try to justify our disobedience.
Just because I left the house doesn’t mean I’m abandoning Grady. He has food and water—all he needs to be safe and okay. I’m always going to be there; I will always take care of him. He knows I’m going to come back. I always come back, yet in that moment he chooses to respond in anger, he turns to destruction instead of patience.
At the risk of some thinking this is a ridiculous comparison, I think God gives you all the leash slack you want. You can choose to heel and be led by a Master who knows what’s best for you or do your own thing and end up with your leash in such a tangled mess that you're forced to beg for help. Ultimately we choose our own fate; obedient patience which ends in reward or destructive rebellion, which ends in discipline.
Grady rushes when he eats, he chomps at the chance of dropped food or a treat. He barks at the door before it’s opened. He pulls the leash to the point of choking and in the same way our patience is most often lacking.
We settle for the immediate instead of the ultimate, the instant instead of eternal. We want what we want even if we know it’s not right. We look for or attempt to create our own opportunities instead of asking God to reveal them. We struggle and tire ourselves trying to get ‘somewhere’ instead of waiting on God and His plan for our lives. You see, whatever response we have to circumstances in our lives we don’t often show what we know but instead what we lack.
We settle for the immediate instead of the ultimate, the instant instead of eternal. We want what we want even if we know it’s not right. We look for or attempt to create our own opportunities instead of asking God to reveal them. We struggle and tire ourselves trying to get ‘somewhere’ instead of waiting on God and His plan for our lives. You see, whatever response we have to circumstances in our lives we don’t often show what we know but instead what we lack.
Grady’s tendencies are selfish and so are ours. Yet when he allows me to lead and train him; when he actually listens to me-- he is always rewarded. The same goes for God, when we listen and obey, he blesses us.
If you really know something, it will be reflected in your behavior. If we really know God and His Word then our lives should be reflections of that. Our attitudes should be that of humility and submission, patience and faith, trust and reliance. Not defiance and destruction. We may not be God’s “dogs”—but just like we love ‘man’s best friend’, he loves us unconditionally and desires loyalty and obedience. He makes promises and keeps them. He rewards those who allow him to lead. The least we can do is leave the trash alone and patiently wait for Him.
If you really know something, it will be reflected in your behavior. If we really know God and His Word then our lives should be reflections of that. Our attitudes should be that of humility and submission, patience and faith, trust and reliance. Not defiance and destruction. We may not be God’s “dogs”—but just like we love ‘man’s best friend’, he loves us unconditionally and desires loyalty and obedience. He makes promises and keeps them. He rewards those who allow him to lead. The least we can do is leave the trash alone and patiently wait for Him.
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