Obedience

By Lorrie Freake

Monday night when I came home--late because of the weather--my dog Teddy was exceptionally happy to see me, his large brown eyes liquid with anticipation and adoration. Teddy wound through my legs (and being a large dog, this proved a bit frightening!), jumped around and followed me closely as I went to deposit my bags in the bedroom. When I went out to the kitchen to decide what to prepare for dinner I noticed he had some food in his bowl. I told him to take it and after he made sure I was serious (I had to repeat myself) he ate eagerly. Teddy was trained as a puppy to first eat from our hand and then not to eat from his bowl without permission.

After a few minutes I went downstairs to check on the kids who had been home sick all day. I asked how long Teddy's food had been in his bowl. Cassandra looked at me with horror on her face--she had fed him in the morning! She had made Teddy sit, shake a paw and then walked away forgetting to tell him "Okay, take it!" That poor, wonderful, obedient dog had not touched his food all day! He had waited for the go ahead! No wonder he was glad to see "mom" come home! He knew that I would make sure he was fed.

It made me think of our relationship with God, the Father. How willing are we to set aside our appetites, whether sincere or contrived, to wait for is go ahead? Do we wait patiently and eagerly for him to come to feed us? Or, do we feed ourselves, impatiently moving ahead of God's approval and timing?

We can take a lesson from man's best friend--let us become God's best friend and trust Him!

Comments

Brenda B said…
I loved hearing about YOUR dog today Lori.
Thanks, Brenda
4:05 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Voyage

Image
Note from Belinda: I read this prayer yesterday and again today--and then I read it to Susan after cell group, when we were having our "second cup" of decaff coffee together. I knew that she'd love it. She has a framed picture on her office wall of a little blond haired girl in a sail boat on a stormy sea. A fatherly sailor,with a weather beaten face; in a gray sou'wester, holds her close, as he capably mans the tiller. This prayer reminds me of that picture and influenced what I wrote earlier today, when I used the metaphor of ebbing waves to describe a lack of consistency and my desire to crash over the sandbar into the peaceful pool on the other side.  ( Susan sent me a link to the painting, which was done by American impressionist Robert Reid in 1888.  It hangs in the Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art in NYC.) Be bless ed by the beauty of this prayer. OH LORD OF THE OCEANS, My little bark sails on a restless sea, Grant that Jesus may sit at the
Read more

Ere Zij God--Glory to God in the Highest! A Dutch Carol

Image
By Belinda This beautiful Dutch carol was shared today by a friend of Dutch ancestry, on Facebook. I had never heard it before but absolutely loved it. It moved me deeply, especially at the end after the crowd leaves the church and then breaks into spontaneous singing again around a brazier, with the sound of chiming church bells in the background. Listen to it with headphones or a good speaker to get the full effect of the harmonies. And happy first Sunday in Advent!
Read more

Samson Beaver and his Family

Image
I first posted this in 2009, a little show and tell about one of my favourite photographs. Back then it hung on a wall, but now it's in my bathroom where I see it every morning! I'd forgotten the history behind the story, researched when I first posted this and thought that current readers might enjoy it--a story from a time when this land was still being discovered, not so very long ago. This photograph was taken by Mary Schaffer; artist, photographer, writer and naturalist, in 1907. It is of a Stoney Indian named Samson Beaver, with his wife Leah and daughter, Frances Louise. I bought the photo on a postcard, on a trip to British Columbia and it hangs framed, on the wall I face when sitting at my laptop. I love it. Don't you just feel as if you could gather Frances Louise up in your arms and cuddle her? I get a deep sense of peace and happiness when I look at this family, sitting in the grass of a long ago fall. They are dressed in their best, beautiful c
Read more