So, we have two dogs: Cairo is a 14 year old Siberian Husky and Elsie is a 1 year old Labradoodle. Today I realized with finality that Elsie is the alpha. I've wondered how and when that change would take place. When we first got Elsie, Cairo was a sort of gentle leader, not really taking the authority she had as the older dog, and little by little, Elsie has cheerfully taken whatever Cairo has not. Now, though, Cairo, without being bullied by Elsie at all, won't eat, even treats, unless Elsie goes first. It's making it hard to give her anything!
We had a couple of cats for a while. We got them as kittens and they learned really quickly that they could bully Cairo. It was so aggravating to see a kitten walk up, literally slap a dog upside the face and wait while she gave up her bed! Nothing we did seemed to help, until the cats found a nice new home. Elsie came later and has been a good friend to Cairo, bringing her out of her cat-induced depression, but still infringing on the attention that Cairo deserves as the old lady of the family.
Today I tried to give Cairo some leftover spaghetti. Both of the dogs love spaghetti, so I made sure Elsie was out of the room when I set a plate in front of Cairo. She hung her head over it, but didn't eat, and eventually walked away. It was so frustrating to want to give her something good but to see her not just take it! I had been thinking of her and wanting to make her happy, but she wouldn't eat.
It reminds me so much of God. He has made so much available to us. He has blessed us with every spiritual blessing, He has provided healing for our bodies and transformation for our minds. He has given us authority and His spirit to be our coach, but we don't use it! We either don't understand what we've got, or we don't understand how to use it, or for whatever reason, we just don't. We don't get into the Word, we don't apply our minds to what we're reading, we don't put a bigger emphasis on what He's saying.
I talked to a guy at church recently about the cool stuff I've been learning, and his response was that basically he agreed that great stuff from God was out there, but that it would come along as God brought it along. He's just waiting for God to make him eat, expecting that if God really wanted him to eat, He would make him sit at the table and force feed him. That's not how it works! You have to put a little effort into this relationship; you have to pursue knowledge (look at the first couple of chapters in Proverbs).
I'm not where I want to be, but at least I'm headed in that direction. My mind is still being renewed, but it is so encouraging to see examples in our own family of little things being healed, of strongholds being broken, and of God's blessing, wisdom, and strength flowing through us.
God is setting a table before us everyday, but we have to eat. I think I'll go have a snack!
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