The Most Loyal Companion

Before I get into the meat of this post, I need to explain some things. I am scared of critters. Plain and simple! They creep me out. This includes all critters: swimming critters, walking critters, jumping critters, flying critters, and especially slithering critters. I had a few bad experiences with dogs when I was younger and I’ve always been especially skittish around them. It doesn’t matter the size of the dog- big, little, or in between. I am just not an animal person. Now, you animal lovers hang with me. There’s more to this story. I just need you to understand the life-long aversion I’ve had to animals before I really get into what I’m trying to convey.

Our four kids have been begging, pleading, bargaining, and scheming the past several years to get a dog. I try to explain to them that I can barely take care of the four of them. It doesn’t make sense to bring another mouth to feed into our home. But the pleas have not subsided. After years of building their case, my husband and I gave up and decided we would get a puppy for our puppy-face kiddos for Christmas. I think it’s been their best Christmas yet. They were so surprised and are still so in love with the newest member of our family, Baxter.

Baxter has changed our lives and I’ve really been thinking about how our relationship with him resembles our relationship with Christ. Dog lover or not, please read on. The realizations I’m about to share apply to all of us.

A Warm Welcome

I’ve noticed that every time I come home, Baxter is so incredibly excited to see me. There’s never been a time when I’ve come home and he hasn’t ran up to me with his tail wagging exuberantly. He jumps up and can’t wait to lick my face. He’s just so excited to see me, like we’ve been separated for years. Of course, I respond in my most loving voice as if I’m talking to an infant… you know that high-pitched voice. “Hi puppy! I missed you!!! Are you excited to see Mommy?” I return his loving expression with some terms of endearment and some of his favorite rubs behind the ears. My closest friends and family are still astonished that I let him lick my face.

Sometimes, I’ll go to one of the kids next and use that voice on them. “Hi, Gavin! I missed you! Are you excited to see Mommy?” Then I rub him behind his ears. He responds with an eye roll and shrugs me off. I find it interesting that this is the way my kids and I used to greet each other when they were babies and toddlers. My, how the times have changed. I don’t know much about dogs, but I’ve heard they always greet their owners this way. No matter what, they are always over the moon when you walk in the door.

Don’t you imagine God is like that? I don’t think He ever gets tired or bored or loses interest in our visits with Him. Zephaniah 3:17 declares, “The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.” I believe God is even more excited than my hyped-up, over-the-moon, can’t-wait-to-lick-my-face-off puppy. He delights in us. Over and over again in the Bible, it speaks of God dwelling with His people. He desires to be with you and with me. He delights in our delight in Him. I have a feeling Baxter’s warm welcome doesn’t even come close to the way our Heavenly Father feels about our visits with Him.

Being Still

Another part of my relationship with Baxter that reminds me of my relationship with the Lord is our cuddle time. I want so badly for Baxter to crawl up in my lap and just sit with me. In the beginning, this never happened. He wouldn’t be still long enough. He’s only five months now, but every once in a while, he’ll jump up in my lap and just sit… for about two minutes and then its over. Isn’t this how we are with Jesus sometimes? He wants me to sit in the quiet with Him and just be. But I get antsy. Many times, I don’t stay long enough.

This morning was one of those days. I sat my alarm to get up and do my quiet time before I met with a friend to run. But I hit snooze… not once, not twice, not three times… but I hit snooze four times!!! (My poor husband! I drive him nuts with the snooze!) You know what happened next.... the quiet time didn’t happen. I went to run, rushed home and got ready for work, tried to fit some time into the 10 minutes I had before leaving for work, got distracted with kiddo stuff, and closed my Bible after a couple of minutes. Because I chose to snooze instead of spend time with Him, I missed out this morning on one of my favorite parts of my day.

When I think about being still with God, I automatically think about the scripture in Psalm 46:10 that says, “Be still and know that I am God.” But when I went to find this verse, I realized the other verses around it were so encouraging:

God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging. There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells. God is within her, she will not fall; God will help her at break of day. Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall; he lifts his voice, the earth melts. The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Come and see what the Lord has done, the desolations he has brought on the earth. He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth. He breaks the bow and shatters the spear; he burns the shields with fire. He says, “BE STILL, AND KNOW THAT I AM GOD; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Psalm 46 (emphasis mine)

Aren’t those words so beautiful, sobering, and comforting? He is our refuge and our strength. His help is always present in times of trouble. Why wouldn’t we BE STILL… and know, more than anything, that He is our God? When I’m sitting down in the evenings, I long for Baxter to sit with me and be still. I want him to just spend time with me. Again, I realize that this feeling of longing is absolutely nothing compared to God’s desire for me to BE STILL with Him…. to talk with Him… to just be quiet and listen. The Hebrew word for still is raphah. It means sink, relax, and abate. We could read Psalm 46:10 as, “Sink into me, relax, become less intense, and know that I am God.” How often do we quiet all the distractions around us, sink in, and truly relax in God’s presence? I have gotten better at this in the past year, but I still need a lot of self-discipline in this area.

A New Me

I had to share some background with you at the beginning of this post for you to truly understand what a miracle it is… not only that I am a dog owner… but that I love him so much, I let him LICK MY FACE!!! I pick him up and want to cuddle with him. I even pet other people’s dogs now! What?!?!?!?!?! This is a new me. It is shocking! I still can’t believe I have a puppy!. It goes against every critter creep I’ve ever known. But he’s changed me. He’s mine, and he’s sweet, and he loves me, and he is so happy to be with me.

Isn’t this like my relationship with God? HE’s changed me. HE’s mine, and HE’s sweet, and HE loves me, and HE is so happy to be with me! 2 Corinthians 5:17 explains, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” I am not the same Sarah I was pre-Baxter. There’s a new excitement and a new love, new reactions, and lots of new doggie toys!!! As astonishing as that change is in me, there’s so much more to say about my Jesus change. The “old” things are still passing away. I am a new creation in Christ, but I continue to be refined, renewed, and remade in His image. I’m so grateful He’s not finished with me yet, but I’m definitely not who I used to be. I am a new creation, and the transition is far greater than my Puppy Momma transformation.

A Man’s Best Friend

Dogs have earned the title of being a man’s best friend because they are such loyal companions. Now that I’m a dog owner, I totally understand why they are so effective as therapy pets. Baxter has brought our family a lot of smiles, laughs, comfort, stress-relief, and delight. Baxter gives us a little glimpse into what we could experience in our relationship with God. He delights in us. He wants us to be still with Him, and we have no idea how truly transformed we are and will continue to be when we sink into Him. Baxter is a true blessing to our family and I’m so grateful (on one of my runs) I realized how my relationship with him depicts only a fraction of the love, joy, comfort, loyalty, delight, and transformation I’m given through my relationship with my Heavenly Father. He is the most loyal companion!

Update: I read this to my girls before posting and Addalyn, responded with, “See, Momma, we told we needed a dog!” (I hate that they were right!🤦‍♀️ But I sure can't deny those smiles!☝🏻)