Saturday, May 15, 2010

Walk the dogs--or did the dogs walk me?

Recently my husband and I took the dogs for a walk. They don’t get to do this often (since they roam our large yard), and when they do, they’re utterly enthusiastic about the trip--however short or ordinary--and I always find this beguiling. I want to be excited like this all the time!

The going is hard at first--both dogs pull hard at their leashes, so eager to move forward, excited by new smells and sounds. Makes it hard for them to walk their humans, but maybe a little like them: too anxious to see what’s ahead. I started thinking, as Buster yanked in a new direction and sniffed at the foot of a tree, that when I get like this I force my own way instead of letting God calm me and handle me and lead me. Imitating my husband as he trains Dot to stop yanking, I hold Buster for a moment, letting his breathing slow and calm build. Each time he gets overanxious I pause, and in a little while he relents and walks beside me--and we both enjoy the scenery together.

Maybe God does this to us now and again--forces us to a stop, or at least pause, in many different ways. I get inspired by sudden and beautiful landscapes, and have to gawk at them; I also slow down when something unexpected happens, or I get sick, and lately, when the baby breakdances in my belly. Each pause creates that one moment of possibility--that moment perhaps when God connects to me and gives me the opportunity to walk alongside Him.

A mutual walk!

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