Anytime I get a chance to walk my dogs leash free I love to see the excitement in their faces.
It's always a mix of "Woohoo!" and "Are you really trusting us not to run away?" The funny thing is they have two different personalities when the leash comes unsnapped.
Rutledge stays right by my side constantly looking at me making sure that I am right there, seeking praise for not running off from me. He is older, content with his life, and has no desire to run ahead of me at all, he is simply happy to be walking by my side and sniffing bushes as we go ( smiling the whole time.)
Amos on the other hand is younger, still figuring out all the world has to offer him. He is more curious and needs explorations and new smells to satisfy him. He thrives on running full speed (literally, he can run as fast as 33 mph) and feeling like he has a little bit of freedom away from me. So when the leash is off, he takes off fast and furious with his ears flopping in the wind. You would think he was never coming back. But then, once he doesn't feel my presence anymore he stops and turns around to look for me and waits until I get closer. He needs the reassurance that he is still going in the right direction.
I had never really thought about the correlation between what Amos does on his walk and what I do in my own life with God until my mom and I had a conversation about a week ago.
She had listened to someone talking about trust and how when we headed one direction and are feeling unsure, we should stop, look, and wait for God to get the reassurance that we are seeking. The person talking about this had compared it to a dog on a walk that stops and waits on their owner and then continues moving on their path after they get their master's approval.
I would have never put those two together, but then I started really thinking about it, and I just saw Amos's face when we are on our walks together and how he trusts me and waits for me to guide him the rest of the way.
I don't often enough stop and wait for God to reassure me. I am go, go, go. No time to stop and be patient. No time to listen quietly for the words I need to hear. No time to pay attention to the signs I need to see.
The reality is, if I stopped and waited and trusted more, I could feel better about the decisions that I make and the path I am walking down..or running down it seems sometimes.
I guess I needed the reminder.
I wanted to share this with you, because maybe you needed a reminder too.
And as Amos and Rutledge's doggie mom, nothing warms my heart more than when their little faces look up at me, like "What now Mom? "
...I can only imagine the joy it must bring to God's heart when we do the same.
