Lessons from Animals and Children
As I was praying this morning, I took a few minutes to watch some dogs outside my bedroom window: an older dog and two puppies. The older dog is not the mama but she’s taken these two under wing. As she was sniffing the ground, one of the puppies began sniffing the ground as well. I don’t know if the puppy knew what she was sniffing for but she was doing her best to imitate her mentor. They say imitation is the best flattery but, in this age of independence, it seems like our focus is on being our own person instead of learning from those who are living lives worth imitating.
I also wonder how much we imitate God. Baby animals will follow their mamas and learn from them until they are grown, eagerly learning how to survive in a world that’s out to get them. I don’t often see people striving to learn from God in the same way. It’s as if we’re worried that He’ll lead us down a wrong path. Do we really think we know better than God?! We often act as if we do.
Scripture tells us we need to become as little children. Their faith is amazing. My nieces and nephews don’t think for a moment that mama or daddy would lie to them. Aunt Sony, on the other hand, they’re not too sure about 🙂 but my prayer is that they will continue to grow in trust and faith so that one day they will have that same trust and faith in their Heavenly Father as He leads them and teaches them.
If you’ve been taking the approach of trying to analyze things and re-think God’s direction about things, I would encourage you to repent and begin to follow Him. As you follow Him, you may find that others begin to follow you. Maybe there are some following you now and you don’t want to lead them down the wrong path. Stay close to God. He knows what’s best for you and will only direct you in those things. They may not always be easy things but they will be good.
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