When God Speaks

I learn a lot from animals. Not sure what conclusions to draw from that! In our neighborhood there is a German Short hair that walks without a leash. His owner carries one, of course, but she does not need to connect it. The dog trots about 20 paces ahead of her on the sidewalk, and glances back frequently to make sure he heads in the right direction. They are in sync, he can explore because he is connected through obedience.

We had a Boxer like this. Her name was Lady, and she was a rescue whose previous owners had trained very well. I could take off her leash when we got to a local field, or the empty school year, and let her run. And boy did she run, in a big circle around me, for maybe two minutes. Then she’d come over smiling (yes, she smiled) and panting. Because of her obedience, I could let her run til her heart was full.

Early one morning before dawn, when it was pouring rain, I let her out in our (unfenced) back yard to wet. As she wet, I saw a glint of two eyes about five yards away – a possum. I yelled to Lady, Come, and lunged forward, slipped, and was down on all fours. “Come” I called again, as she saw the possum. And she came, in part perhaps to see what in the world I was doing on the muddy ground! My dog taught me about obedience, the posture I strive to have when God speaks. Sometimes I get to run til my heart is full, and other times I need to stay very close. He knows best, and I need to keep my eyes steady on Him.