A Walk in the Park

My dog is a hunter dog.

No, not for people, or for most animals. Mostly he hunts for smells, and birds. Of course, the birds idea is a pipe dream; so alot of the time he just sniffs his way through bushes, leaves, and dirt.

He's definitely not one of those dogs who just walks along with you without any stops. He's a perfectly trained and well-behaved puppy, he is just curious and gets disctracted very easily. About 3 times every passing minute he must stop to either smell this bush, rustle these pile of leaves, or pee on this tree.

Unless he's doing the latter of those options, I usually lose my patience about after 40 seconds and yank on his leash. It'd be nice to just go on a simple walk with my dog, without any stops or hesitations. Sometimes I just can't seem to wait for him- I've gotta pull him to catch up with me.

As we went on one of our longer walks yesterday, I put myself in Pluto's (my dog's) perspective for a moment. I'd be a heck of a lot more curious than he about the world around me, or what could possibly be in those bushes. My owner would choke me constantly with all the stops I'd want to make.

It made me think of my faith lately. I've been stopping and getting distracted, sniffing through other elements that remain dust compared to God (less than dust, in reality). I let questions of mine, doubt, and fear have me almost run into the street. Good thing God's got a tight grip.

And it's also a good thing that God is patient with me. He doesn't yank on my leash or threaten me to move along or walk faster. He sits and waits patiently for me to notice Him again, and follow Him completely.

Today is Thanksgiving.

One thing I am certain I am thankful for is that God is patient and loving. He knows what is best for me, and even when I get entangled in bushes that don't matter whatsoever; He waits for me to come back to Him.

In general, I am thankful that He waits. So... what else could we do but wait for Him?

Psalm 27:14

"Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart: wait, I say, on the Lord."