Squirrels...

Yesterday afternoon the weather was beautiful and I just had to get out and enjoy it!  So I grabbed the leash, helped my wife into her transport chair and off we went.  I am not exactly sure why, but my wrists and knees were a little bit sore, and I proceeded to instruct the dog that she needed to be my helper on this walk and not a hindrance!  Well, as you can guess, that worked fine until we got around the corner from our house, and were walking down the incline of the driveway by the garages when the dog spotted a squirrel scampering down the middle of the tree shaded street.

Now Mandie is usually cool around other dogs, humans and even around cats… but let her catch sight of a squirrel and she goes nuts!  (no pun intended!)  I think that it might have started when we lived in Oklahoma and she would regularly chase a red squirrel that liked to use our back fence as his means to get from the trees in one corner of our yard to the field on the other side.

So picture this… With my wrists and knees screaming in pain, I am attempting to protect my wife and slow down the wheelchair as it careens down the driveway to the road, while I grab for the lease which is hooked on the handle of the chair, yank it hard and yell (while laughing at the same time) at the dog to stop and follow me and not the squirrel who seems oblivious to the whole hilarious escapade!

By the time we got to the other side of the street and up onto the sidewalk, I finally got everything under control enough to stop and catch my breath!  I’m sure it was a comical scene as the dog was panting with a triumphal look on her face, my wife was grinning and I was probably bright red from all the activity!  After making sure I had regained the dog’s attention, I made her sit and stay while I got my wife straightened out in her chair, and myself settled down!  Then we proceeded on our casual walk around the neighborhood lake.

I think most of the people with dogs in our neck of the woods must have had the same idea as we did, as we met quite a few along the way!  Every few minutes we stopped, greeted each other and jockeyed our dogs around to assure that things stayed friendly (which they did!).  By the time we got back home I was exhausted!  I took off my shoes, plopped down on the couch, messaged my wrists and had a drink of ice water!

I considered that experience as I read once more, from 2 Corinthians 2:14 to begin my study time this morning.  It begins by the Apostle Paul stating, “But I thank God, who always leads us in victory because of Christ…” (God’s Word ©)  My immediate thought was that God is always leading us, but do we always follow His lead?  Like Mandie getting distracted by the squirrel yesterday and not following my commands, do we also get distracted at times and fail to follow our leader?

I am thankful that our neighborhood is pretty quiet and that there were no cars coming down the road or up the driveway as I was trying to get things under control on our walk  (or that there was no one else walking where we were at the time… at least as far as I could see!).  I guess one could say the same thing when failing to follow God’s leadings.  Sometimes things in our lives are kind of quiet and we can seemingly get away with a little distraction, but then there are other times when things are already hectic and a small distraction can really cause personal difficulties to us or to those around us.

Next time we go out for a walk I plan on being more aware of my surroundings (ie; that the squirrels are back in their harvesting mode!) and will take measures to assure that the dog is under control and following my lead before the distractions come upon us!  This is also something I plan on doing more in my personal life as I accomplish my daily tasks.  I plan to be more aware of my surroundings, of any possible distractions and that my eyes are firmly planted on God and where He is leading me!

I plan to follow Him and let Him lead me into each daily victory!  How about you?  Will you wildly chase the squirrels in this life, or stay attentive to Him?  I’d rather not have the sore wrists and knees again!  Have a good day.  Stay in tune to His Word, and keep asking yourself… “What ADVENTURE am I expecting today?”