This morning I was walking my puppy around the neighborhood. I have been working with him on heeling. He loves people and other animals, so when we are out walking he is easily distracted and excited by his surroundings. When he gets excited by something he pulls on the leash and often pulls in a direction other than the one I am trying to take him. When we get ready to cross the street, I command him to sit and look to me for direction before crossing. It is a simple command, “sit”, and one he knows very well when there are no distractions and he is focused on me. Often on our walks, it is very difficult to get his attention for the command. His attention is on everything but me. Once I can get his attention, he will do it and then I will give the command “let’s go” and we are continuing on our journey.
One of the words that has been a focus for me lately is the word “abide”. It means to remain, continue or stay. In my life this has been a challenge for me because I am a very emotional person and circumstances often influence my emotions easily. When I am catering to my emotions, it becomes very difficult to abide or remain in a particular mindset that I know is right or more positive. Watching my puppy learn to heel on our walks, I have noticed that I am a lot like him. I am influenced by my surroundings or circumstances and lose focus of the mindset I want to have. I let my feelings pull me in directions other than where God is leading me. It becomes difficult to hear instructions for next steps because of all the distractions.
I think that sometimes in life God has me in training. We are practicing skills that will allow me to remain focused and attentive so that my journey is directed and there is less need for correction along the way. I am learning to heel in a sense and allow God to lead me instead of pulling in different directions. Learning to abide is part of that. In many ways I am not that much different than my little french bulldog. We are both just learning how to abide in truth so that our journey requires less resistance and is full of focus and intentionality.
- Know who your following
- Identify potential distractions
- Learn where or what to focus on when distractions are present
- Identify what it feels like when you are focused vs. distracted
- Follow the leader