Daisy May is Pretty Smart

I have a dog. Her name is Daisy May and I love her. She is older now, I think she might have a bit of arthritis, poor girl. She and I have walked many woodland paths together. She was raised in what people call the sticks. Our house was in the middle of acres and acres of woods and she roamed happily.
Then life, as it is known to do, changed. We went from our big, woodland cottage to a small brick house in the middle of town. It's a beautiful area, the yards are manicured and the ivy is old. I love it.
Daisy's days of roaming free are over. Poor girl. She has preferred the country life but has had to adjust to the confines of laws and ordinances. Sometimes she sighs.

All is not lost though, I try to take her for regular walks. We walk among the large trees and see the flowers bloom, and now she has to be on a leash. She is not a leash dog any more then her owner, me, is a rule girl. She goes to the very end of her leash, she strains to catch all the smells.

Today, I took her for a walk at Beth Schmidt park in Elon. It's the first time we had been there. Very nice. There is a hiking path that is my kind of walk in the woods. The paths are wide and cleared. No poison ivy. It is clean and has tree identification markers along the way. Lovely and urban. When Daisy saw that place she thought she was back at home in the sticks and wanted to run freeee!! But, sadly, the park had posted a sign that said leash laws STRICTLY enforced.
That word strictly made me think that just maybe they were serious and we should probably heed them, avoiding any kind of fine.
We set out and as expected, Daisy pulled, was excited and tried to enjoy the experience. But the leash kept her from her wild abandon.
I have a spirit of wild abandon, just like Daisy. You might think that reason would keep me out of trouble but in my enthusiasm for life, I pass right by that part and go for the adventure.

I got a lesson today.
Happily, as we walked, I gave her as much freedom as possible so she could smell and explore, but her freedom kept getting her caught up in the trees. She would run off the path and a tree would come between she and me. She would be stuck at the end of the leash, choking and pulling. To solve the problem all she had to do was retrace her steps just a tiny bit and go back the way she came and she would be free and we could continue our walk.

It made me think about my relationship with God. This spirited woman, sometimes gets caught and I pull against God's law or restraint. I pull, I struggle and I'm uncomfortable.

But, I have to tell you how smart that senior citizen, Daisy is, she is the first dog I know to have handled that problem with wisdom. When at the end of her rope {leash} when she felt the tug and was choking she listened to me. As she pulled in what seemed like the right direction, towards me, I told her "No!" And when she started to back up I told her "Good girl!!" She trusted me and responded in accordance to the instruction I gave her. She became free and we were able to continue our lovely walk.

Here is where I saw a correlation between her and me. When I get stuck in a bad place, what will I do? Will I continue to pull, harder and harder, choking myself - meaning, will I continue on my path of what I might think is the solution? Or will I stop and listen to the God of the universe that loves me and instructs me in the way I should go.

God has given me the words of life and death. He gives me a light on my path. God is the one that knows and has the big picture. I can attest with wholehearted gratitude that the Lord has stayed with me for many years, He has worked with me every time I get stuck. He has even been known to get into the trees and set me free because I just wasn't listening.

Now, many years later, through lots of experiences, I am a much better listener. Because of His faithfulness I have come to a place of being able to hear His command. I don't pull like I used to. I am more able to trust His provision. It is His instruction, from the Bible, that gives me that wisdom. It is the Words He has put here for us that have told me, like I told Daisy,  "No! not that way" or "Yes! Good job"

Listening got Daisy out of trouble, listening and obeying the Word of God gets me on the right track. The same is for YOU. The very God that spoke the world into existence is the very same God that created you and loves you. It's that very same God that has the big picture and if we are wise we will listen and obey.

Then because we listen and obey, we can continue our "walk" with the Lord.
He has so much joy for us. His ways are the BEST. I love His laws.