The Shih Tzu Analogy

Seek His will in all you do and He will show you which path to take.

Proverbs 3:6

Anyone who has ever lived with a Shih Tzu knows how incredibly sweet, snuggly and endearing they can be. They can also be stubborn, obstinate and extremely unyielding. 

A friend of mine once wrote this about her Shih Tzu, "Shih Tzu must be the Chinese word meaning stubborn". 

When a Shih Tzu gets an idea in their cute little head or wants to check something out, they will bound ahead with no regard to the consequences. 

When we take our puppies for walks they love to explore. If something grabs their attention, they will pull like tiny sled dogs and try to drag you to the desired destination. More often than not, the direction they want to go, is not where they should be. It seems as though we spend 90% of our walks trying to drag them back onto the right path. We do our best to help them avoid potential dangers. Here is how the majority of our outings go.....

"No, do not pee on the cactus"

"You cannot walk across storm drains, your feet will get stuck"

"Do not lick that off the sidewalk"

"No, that giant dog does NOT want to play with you"

"Move over, a car is coming"

It is funny and exhausting at the same time. The sad thing is, we go through this routine several times a day - every - day.

Today on our walk, I told Jay that this must be how God often feels with us. He desires that we walk by his side. He sees the dangers and pitfalls that are on other paths, however, something shiny catches our eye and we are off and running toward it.

I can picture God smacking his forehead with the palm of his hand, saying, "No, do not go there again!"

Daily, He is trying to keep us on His path. Sometimes we listen to His advice. Other days, we forge ahead with our own plans and that's when it happens....we get stabbed by the cactus; we get our foot stuck in the storm drain.

Thankfully, our God is so patient and so loving that instead of saying "I told you so", He reaches down and lifts us out of our self-created mess. He bandages our wounds and loves us back to health.

He renews my strength. He guides me along right paths bringing honor to his name. Psalm 23:3

This is what the Lord says - your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: "I am the Lord your God who teaches you what is good for you and leads you along the paths you should follow."

Blessings,

Mandy