a lesson from Cooper

One morning this week I was standing by our back door, looking out into the back yard. I noticed our dog, Cooper---a loveable 2-year-old Golden Retriever with boundless energy and a need for people and companionship. He is sweet-tempered, a little dumb in my opinion, but he loves us unconditionally and without reserve. He is slowly endearing himself to me, which is saying a lot since I am not particularly an animal lover.

But I digress.

Cooper was lying outside of his pen, curled up in a tight ball on the ground, trying to stay warm against the morning's frigid temperatures and a biting wind. His fur was layered with a light coating of frost, from being outside all night. A few feet away from where he was lying, was his comfortable cage, the door open and inviting. Just inside, his bowl of dog food was left untouched. The day before, Carl had installed a heat lamp and I could see the warm glow coming from inside.

But Cooper was afraid of what he did not understand. Instinct told him that the red light in his pen was dangerous, scary. His fear of the unknown kept him outside in the cold for over 24 hours--a full day and night and into the next day.

I stood there and thought about the fact that as a dog, Cooper simply could not understand my human reasoning. I wanted to tell him that we put the heat lamp there to make him more comfortable for the winter, and we did it because we care about him, but he was not able to comprehend and in fact, his doggy brain assumed we were doing something to hurt him. Even though we have cared well for him for over two years.

I had a "light-bulb moment," (no pun intended!) one of those times when a thought forms crystal-clear inside my brain. I like to believe this is God's way of teaching me a concept in living word pictures so I will be sure not to miss it.

How many times in my life, when something happens that is outside my comfort zone,I pull back in fear, trying desperately to stay within the confines of my own understanding. I am afraid to let go of what I know, what is familiar to me, and what I understand through the lens of my human reasoning. I simply can not fathom God's way of doing things. His thoughts are not my thoughts, His ways are not my ways.

I have to choose to trust that this God Who has been faithful to me all of my life, is continually looking out for my good. He is Sovereign, He is Wise, He is Good. This is what my faith tells me, even when my feelings scream against it.

So until the pain of staying where I am outweighs the potential pain of change, I stay out in the cold, curled up inside myself, waging an inevitable losing battle against a God Who is so much bigger than me.

By the way, Cooper eventually discovered how delightfully warm and cozy his little house is. I think he likes it!

Oswald Chambers once said, "Faith never knows where it is being led, but it knows and loves the One who is leading."