Persistance

The voice of the LORD is over the waters; the God of glory thunders, the LORD thunders over the mighty waters. The voice of the LORD is powerful; the voice of the LORD is majestic. The voice of the LORD breaks the cedars; the LORD breaks in pieces the cedars of Lebanon. Psalm 29:3-5 (NIV)

Our Doberman, Lucy, never slept on the floor in her entire life. From her arrival in our home as a puppy, it was clear that a hard floor was not suitable for her royal highness. She slept only in our bed, on the couch or the love seat. Then, last spring, we bought a new mattress, so Lucy was banned from our bed. She is not only regal, but smart, so it did not take long to teach her the bed was off limits. Besides, she still had her couch and loveseat. Now, those days are over. When we bought new furniture, Lucy got a new big pillow on the floor. It has not been easy for her to change her ways, but she is learning though she remains highly offended at the indignity of it all. I am surprised that she gave in so easily. She can be persistent when she wants to be. Take for example her way of getting us to let her into the house. She is very alert and attentive to outside noises, so frequently in the evenings demands to go outside and patrol the yard. We let her out, then, get busy with other things and forget she is out there. When she was little, she would sit at the door and make little yippy barks. Now that she weighs over fifty pounds, she has learned a new technique. She flings herself at the sliding glass door almost touching its top, then, with her belly against the glass, slides down the door, scrapping her toenails as she goes. Like chalk on a chalkboard, the jolt of her hitting the glass door and then, slipping to its bottom gets our immediate attention. Because we let her right in, she gets reinforcement and we have created another problem to overcome. Sometimes, I treat God just like I did Lucy. He gives me little hints here and there about something He wants me to do or be, but I am so absorbed in my own life that I fail to notice. So, He has to increase His prodding to a level that I cannot ignore. Usually, when I find myself hearing the same message in a book or message or song, I start thinking, “Hmm, could it be this is meant for me?” That’s the way it was around Christmastime when all of a sudden, I was surrounded by talk of the importance of relationships both with my others and with God. How intimacy is what God created us for, with Him and with our fellow man. And how He calls us to be, not so much to do. Like Lucy crashing into the glass door, two books for Christmas, three sermons, a new favorite song and a Sunday School lesson opened my ears to God’s intent for me this year. And now, like Lucy craves her nice cozy bed, I find myself craving intimacy with the Almighty Maker of Heaven and Earth. But, I have to be careful not to tune out the message. It is so easy to loose my attention.