Panting on a Leash

This evening I took my dog, Easton, for a walk. I figured he'd really like that considering the size, or rather lack of, of the house that we currently fit four humans and three dogs in. So here we are, man and his best friend going back to the stone age setting out on this adventure. Easton, for those who aren't in the know, is a chocolate lab (black at night though) who's still got plenty of puppy in him for being almost two years old. We start out and Easton is dragging me along by his leash, just constantly tugging. Then we hadn't even made it a full block before he saw another canine and went ballistic with hair rising up and guard dog mode in full gear (he's actually a big sissy so no worries.) Finally we settle into a good pace with plenty of slack through the leash. The walk ends up being very anti-climatic and we both made it home safely, but I had discovered a pretty astonishing thing.

The walk I just took with my dog was incredibly similar to another walk in my life, my walk with Jesus.

Only instead of the one holding the leash, I'm the one kept on the path by it. Like Easton, I keep tugging on this leash of my beliefs and just as I love my dog so I don't let him run wherever, Jesus holds onto the leash so I won't become overwhelmed by everything in the world.

Another good similarity shows up in the way Easton acts once another dog is in sight. He puffs up and barks to put on a good show, letting the other dog know that he's protecting me. In life we come across those who challenge our faith in Christ and we have to put up a guard against said challenge.

There are also things on our journey that can distract us like a squirrel coming into Easton's sight. We get amazed at such simple stuff sometimes causing us to lose focus of the main goal in life. The world catches us up in the busyness and gossip until we feel that tug on the leash.

Eventually, like Easton finally did, Jesus and I settle into a good pace, just enjoying each other's company.

Just as my canine friend trust me, I put all my trust in Jesus, knowing He's leading me back to that glorious front porch waiting with a heavenly bowl of water.