Articles and Poetry by Our Members
| Wouldn’t You Like to be a Pepper, Too? |
| Author: Suzanne Holland Entered on: 5/10/2007 |
| Previous Article | Full List | Next Article |
| I am an exercise addict. My favorite way of indulging my craving is to take a long walk with my dogs, Misty and Pepper. When preparing to go on our walk yesterday, each of them displayed some behaviors that reminded me of myself in my walk with the Lord. Each of them has some peculiar behaviors when it comes to submitting to authority, obeying, and following their leader. First I must attach their leads. I always have to get Misty’s lead on first. She is more rebellious and resists having the collar put around her neck. This is not just a regular collar. It is called a “choke chain”. It is meant to draw tighter when she resists being led. This is necessary for her because she is not a follower. When I attempt to put her collar on, she backs away, spins in circles, and lowers her head. It is interesting to watch, because if she really wanted to avoid the collar, she could. She could run away, bare her teeth and growl at me, and I would not bother to take her. She knows two things instinctively: She wants to walk with me, and she must avoid capture. What a difficult moment that must be when her desire to go with me overtakes her instinct to be free of the chain. But the former desire always wins out. While Misty is spinning around, trying to avoid the collar, Pepper sits patiently watching and waiting. Once Misty is subdued, I easily hook Pepper’s leash onto her collar (no choke chain is necessary), and we are off. Misty leaps wildly as soon as the garage door begins to open, while Pepper waits patiently for me to take my first step. When I do, she is immediately at my heel, while Misty flies out the door, filing her nails on the driveway as she desperately tries to run, yelping at the pinch of the choke chain on her neck. I can almost hear Pepper saying, “You dumb dog. Why don’t you just relax and enjoy the walk?” Once we’ve gone a block or so, Misty settles down, but she still insists on being in the lead, just a hair ahead of me, with Pepper bringing up the rear, faithfully walking at my heel. What can I learn from my two friends? I learn what not to do from Misty. Her lack of submission requires her to wear a choke chain on our walks. This is uncomfortable for her, but it is necessary if I am going to have a pleasant walk. Many times Misty feels the choke collar tighten when she decides to chase a squirrel! Like Misty, what painful measures God has taken with me to get my attention and teach me to submit and follow His lead? How often He needs to pull the chain to correct me when I get “too far ahead”, or give in to sin’s temptation? So the lesson is to follow God’s lead without resisting, to receive the joy of a peaceful walk with Him uninterrupted by painful discipline. “Therefore we also have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to Him.” (2 Cor 5:9). I can imagine the pleasure of the Lord in my experience of walking Pepper. Folks in the neighborhood comment on how she is a good and obedient dog. Some ask how I trained her: “Where did she learn to walk so well?” Best of all, they may ask about our training, wanting to know how we can have such peace, and follow Him so calmly. These comments please the Lord, but we share in this joy. To have the privilege of telling others about Him and how we have learned to “walk so well” is the ultimate reward for having an attitude of submission. Sometimes, for any number of reasons, only one of the dogs may go on a walk. I usually choose Pepper, because going with her is just more enjoyable. When I do choose Misty, Pepper literally cries over not being chosen. She is inconsolable for a time after we leave, according to my family. When God has to choose someone to go with Him on a special mission, I hope he chooses me. Right now, I am trying my best to show Him that I can be obedient and submissive, so He can take me anywhere. I want Him to say of me, “I choose her over that other person who is so stubborn and rebellious, because I need someone who will follow my lead.” How I would grieve if he had to choose someone else because I was too stubborn. Are you a Pepper? Is it “squirrel season” in your life lately? Or are you obedient, loving, submissive to your Master, always aiming to please Him with your behavior? Are you content to walk a step behind him, waiting for him to lead the way, or does He have to make constant corrections to your path? (Gasp!) Wouldn’t you like to be a Pepper, Too? |
