Dog-Walking

Anyone who knows me, knows I am beyond a healthy point of obsession with my seven pound Morkie named Mutton Chops. Mutty (nicknamed) has a few specific traits: he loves other people and WILL lick them uncontrollably, he likes to wrestle, and he's a tad on the dumb side. After Brad's talk last night on Ecclesiastes 8, my husband Tim and I took Mutton on a walk since it was finally below 120 degrees. The walk, while simple and routine, reminded me of Solomon.

Last night at The Table, we looked at Ecclesiastes 8. Solomon is contemplating how complex and broken this world is (and how we will never understand all of its meaning) and that we have to remember to "eat, drink, and be glad," to ENJOY LIFE. Brad shared with us two ways we can move to a place where we enjoy life. The first being that we must understand God's full story, that of a Jesus Christ who loves us deeply. The second way to find true joy is to bring your whole life under the reign of God, "reign" being defined as "having control, rule, or influence." I could say I have reign over Mutton Chops, at least I try to when we are walking . . .

So as we walked around Lake Calhoun, out of the corner of my eye I see a little girl running towards us. Five minutes later, her entire extended family has surrounded Mutty, spoiling him beyond a point of repair - it was a tad insane. Eventually we broke from the group, and Mutty was the epitome of pure joy. He had his tongue out, a doggish grin on his face, and was literally pouncing because nothing is better than than cool air and multiple things to pee on. Now it's important to know I don't particularly need to go on walks - I do it because I know how happy it makes my dog. Maybe you have a dog and know what I'm talking about. Or maybe you have a kid and you feel the same joy when they light up about about something simple. I didn't need to go on a walk, but because my dog was SO happy . . . I was happy. I wanted nothing more than for Mutty to enjoy his walk, get pet by strangers, and pee on stuff. I receive joy from giving my dog joy.

God is kind of the same. When we are under his control, he DELIGHTS in giving us joy. God WANTS us to enjoy life. He LOVES when we enjoy life. But we need to be under his reign to fully enjoy it. If we stray from his control, we could get lost or hurt. I'm not saying God has us on a limited leash that chokes us. I'm saying that if we let God lead us and tell us when to stop and when to go (for our own good), then we can fully enjoy life. We must choose to let God rule over our entire lives and then BASK in the joy of it. Joy doesn't have to look like a new car. For me, it was watching my dog do puppy pounces. Maybe being under the reign of God is kind of like going on a doggie walk.

Ashley Barlow serves as Co-Director of Commitment Class

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