All Grown Up

Here's Tug. He's all grown up.  WAAAAYYYY up!  It's always nice to care for a dog that outweighs me.

When a dog is young, we expect them to make mistakes - chewing, housebreaking, jumping, etc.  But our expectation of their behavior at maturity is just that - mature behavior - acting within the boundaries of what they've been taught.

Um....do we do that?  Do I do that?  I've been taught well.  I understand not just WHAT the rules are, but WHY the rules exist.  Reasoning that it is in fact the best way to live, yet I still find my heart weak and my behavior breaking down.

Have you ever heard "religion isn't about rules, it's about relationship"?  That platitude is true, but I find it hard to understand.  God gives us rules for OUR benefit - follow them and the consequences of bad decisions makes for an easier life.  However, we all are weak - we all sin - and then what do we do with that?  Run to the Lord.  That's when the whole relationship part makes sense.  Forgiveness is real and necessary.

It's never too late to run to God, no matter what you've done. 

Not all dogs are brought into homes as puppies, raised with good boundaries.  Many dogs are adopted from shelters and rescues, older and with many bad habits.  Yet a loving home, with patient training, provides a new life for these happy dogs.  You can have new life too.  Look to the Master.