Obedience Challenged

I went to my first dog obedience trial this past Saturday in Ruston. I volunteered as a Ring Steward and basically just made sure people got in the ring with their dog in the right order and assisted the judge with some of the test elements.

Now dog people and horse people are weird. Cat show people are just bizarre. I say this with all love, because I have grown up showing horses in hunter shows and have drifted in and out of the dog world over the years. Some of the greatest people I know are dog and horse professional trainers or dedicated amateurs. But for the most part, we are just really really weird and forget there is a world outside of the stable and kennel.

Anyways, I really enjoyed watching the dogs go through their paces. Most of the dogs were excellent, and the thing I enjoyed most about it was watching the canines focus on their handlers. They watched them constantly and were totally focused on what the handler would ask next. Obedience trials are set up to test how focused the dog is on its handler and how well it follows directions. And the dogs, all of them, LOVED to do what their handler asked. It was the greatest joy for them to please their handler whether it was a simple sit or a complicated scent exercise. All they wanted to do was make their handler happy.

I just love dogs for that reason. They do not think about themselves. It is all about serving someone else.

What great teachers they are about our role in life. Do I stay focused on my "handler"? Is pleasing God my main goal in everything I do. Do I wake up in the morning and get excited just thinking about what I can do for God and that I get to spend the whole day with Him? Or do I constantly look behind me, to the side of me, or get distracted by the bait left on the floor. My handler has a whole pocket full of treats better than the dried out miniscule piece of bait on the floor, but what do I choose to do with this information? Does God constantly have to correct me (gentle or not so gentle) with some yanks on my chain so to speak?

Whenever a dog or horse makes a mistake in a class. It is 99.9% of the time the handler's fault. Perhaps we were not clear on our instruction or we did not train or prepare them correctly for the test. As followers of Christ, we NEVER have to fear this. God will never go against His Word and anything he tells us is wise, its lasting and it is real.

There is a charming phrase in animal lover circles that says, "Lord please help me be the kind of person my dog thinks I am." How true! But even more so, I ask, "Lord if I were to be even half as obedient and excited about you as my dog is about me then what amazing things you could do through me to minister to others!"