Spiritual Lessons from a Dog

If you follow my Instagram, you have probably seen me post a lot about our house-pup Misha.

 

Misha was rescued from the city dump, but, as my housemate Kacie puts it, “you can take Misha out of the dump but you can’t take the dump out of Misha”.

 

 Misha is both great and frustrating.

 

For example:

Great: Every morning, as soon as she sees you, Misha darts to you as if you have been gone forever.  Misha has a way of making your morning seem special and hopeful.

 

Frustrating: Any opportunity she gets to dig/eat trash, she takes it.  If you leave the bathroom door open, you’ll soon find a line of poop trash (TP isn’t flushed in most of Guatemala due to the plumbing lines.) 

 

Great:  When Misha wants to get your attention, she will approach you and place a paw on your foot as she looks at you.  It’s quite adorable.

 

Frustrating: Misha will constantly grab random items and destroy them in the backyard.  We have found socks, shirts, shoes, kitchen knives, fireworks, and all sorts of items.

 

 

In all this, there is something incredibly special about Misha.  Misha, in all her quirkiness, is actually a reflection of our relationship to the Lord.  Despite how nasty she can get or how angry she can make us, we still love her and embrace her.

 

Amongst some of the great things she does (and the point of this blog) is waiting.  If you serve Misha food or get her a treat, she will not immediately eat it.  Instead, she waits.  Misha waits until she receives the signal from her authority to enjoy.

 

Waiting always seems like the hardest thing to do.  Whether its traffic or long lines, as people we try to stay away from waiting as long as possible. 

 

We trade in the slower brewing coffee for instant.  We warm up food in the microwave instead of the oven.  Waiting is now a negative thing in our world of immediate gratification.

 

As I take care of Misha, nothing warms my heart about her more than when she waits for my ok.  It’s the obedience that I value.

 

Ultimately I think the same about the Lord.  He values our obedience as we wait.  Like a hungry dog staring at a bowl full of munchies, we similarly look at the desires we have in our hearts.

 

For those who long for purpose, it means not clinging on to the first opportunity.

 

For those who long for relationship, it means not going “all in” emotionally with the first person that catches your eye.

 

For those who long to be known, it means not spilling your guts out to the first person who asks you “how are you?”

 

There is a place to wait on the Lord.  To obey his “wait”.

 

The Lord is holding nothing back from me.  He is not holding anything back from you either. 

 

In a world that desires a yes/no response, the response the Lord generally gives is “wait.”

 

And as a hungry, Guatemalan pup waits for her owner’s command to enjoy her meal, we too should wait to enjoy all that the Lord has for us.

 

Psalm 27:14 Wait for the Lord, be strong, take heart, and wait for the Lord