Tuesday With Teri

Lucy is my son’s 10-month-old Wiemaraner.   She is about 60 pounds of puppy.  She is not well trained on the leash yet, making our daily walks a bit of a challenge.  The problem is not just that she pulls continually at the leash, but rather her inability to focus on moving forward on the walk.  Take today for example.

Today we walked one entire mile, down our street and back.  In that relatively short span, here is what she accomplished:

• 2 newspapers retrieved from various drive ways, none of which were ours.
• One squirrel chased up a nearby tree
• 2 cats cowering below parked cars
• One jogger who increased her pace to avoid Lucy’s advances
• 3 dandelion tuffs devoured
• One decorative flag waving seductively from a mailbox, narrowly escaped being eaten
• Senselessly jumped in effort to catch bird perched on telephone line
• A quick drink form a small puddle of water on side of road
• Carried at least  3 branhces (not “sticks”, but branches with leaves) alternately dropping  then retrieving them
• Sniffing every mailbox and saying hello to every neighbor working in their yard
• Collected objects along the way including pinecones, rocks, acorns and a dead frog.

 My right arm, the one I held her leash with, is no doubt inches longer due to her eager pulling.  She will need a lot more practice walking on leash, but in retrospect who can blame her for her lack of focus on our walk.  There were exciting things to see, smells to smell and things to taste everywhere we went.  Maybe if I were she, I too would lack focus and bolt every direction except the direction planned for me.

As we both made our way back to the house I’m not sure who was panting more, we were both exhausted.  I could not stop thinking about how nice the walk could have been had she simply walked with me and followed my lead.  That’s when it occurred to me just how much I have in common with Lucy.

I too am quickly nudged off task by my own lack of focus.  God’s direction in my life is often clear, yet it does not take much for me to lose my way.  I take on things He does not ask me to take on.  I stop and dwell on things He is trying to pull me past.  I will trade His final destination for me for an immediate opportunity to bring myself satisfaction.  How nice my journey could be if I would simply walk with Him and follow His lead.

What an immense challenge, making God my one desire.   This week I will dwell on Psalm 63:1-8….

“Oh God you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you….Because Your love is better than life, my lips will glorify You.  I will praise you as long as I live, and in Your name will I lift up my hands…..On my bed I remember You; I think of you through the watches of the night…my soul clings to you…..”