Wait!

I felt like my life had come to nothing as I laid on the loveseat about to finish the second Star Wars movie. It's the Sabbath and I'm supposed to rest, but my bottom was falling asleep. So, I took Sassy for a walk. It was in the cool of the night and wasn't too dark. I thought I could train her a little bit too. The Dog Whisperer makes me feel like I can do anything. 

Mini-schnauzers should walk either beside or behind the person holding the leash, because in a dog's mind the leader leads the way, and that leader needs to be human. If they do not get daily walks, the schnauzer will have behavior problems (so says dogbreedinfo.com). So, I decided to strap her into her harness and grab some dog treats to begin training. She pulls on the lease so much for a little dog. I was going to train her not to strain herself in order to run ahead of me. I did this by stopping every 5 feet, tugging on the leash and saying "Wait!" When she did, I would give her a treat. 

I began to think about how important it is for her to wait beside or behind me. What if I accidentally let go of the leash? Without discipline she could run into the street! She could get herself lost if she allowed her desires to overcome her training.What if there was a cat in the road and she ran after it only to find herself underneath the wheels of a car? I began to regret not teaching her sooner to wait. 

By the end of the cult-d-sac she had still not taken to the training. I understood that training is a process, but she was stubbornly pulling on the leash ahead of me more than ever. I grew more concerned about how she viewed me. "Why isn't she obeying my commands? Doesn't she see that I am her Master?" were questions that brewed in my mind. I finally crouched down beside her, took her face and said, "You need to obey me. I'm your Master." I didn't say it to be authoritative. I had persistent love in my heart for her. The idea of her not obeying me grieved my heart because my commands will keep her safe. It's what's best for her and if she did not follow them, she could get hurt. I trained her because I loved her. Yes, she has a keen sense of smell and quite an ear for hearing, but she is too small to see the big picture. Her mind was not equipped to understand it.  

As I arose from my special moment with Sassy I had to slap myself. I hadn't heard from the Lord today and felt quite distant from Him. I woke up too late to spend time with Him and had not had a chance to do so since. I realized that the Lord had been telling me to wait in a lot of areas in my life. I needed to not act on the impulse to take control and act on my anxiety. 

Psalm 131 had become a theme in my life:

  

¹ My heart is not proud, Lord, my eyes are not haughty;  

I do not concern myself with great matters or things too wonderful for me.  

² But I have calmed and quieted myself, I am like a weaned child with its mother; 

 like a weaned child I am content.

³ Israel, put your hope in the Lord both now and forevermore.

Yet, like Sassy, I need to wait. I don't know why the Lord tells me to wait now, but I understand that my brain wasn't made to see the big picture. I have to wait in faith. His commands are for my safety. If God allowed my desires for adventure to dictate my actions I bet I would also run after things that could put me in harm's way. He is my Master, my Lord, my God and I am His daughter who is to walk beside or behind Him. He is the Leader, not me. He sees where I am going and will not abandon me, nor will He allow me to go places He hasn't introduced me to. I need to wait. It's so hard, but I see the importance of waiting. 


Psalm 130:5-6 "I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits, and in his word I put my hope. I wait for the Lord, more than watchmen wait for the morning, more than watchmen wait for the morning"