I live in the Northeast, a part that gets a lot of snow and is bitter cold at times that makes you want to scream for Mama. This week we got about 2 ft of snow plonked down on us over a 18 hour span and blanketed us with this wonderful powdery substance that makes living this far north worth it. I also have a sweet little dog that is about shin high, a pure bred Shiba Inu and I will spare you at this time the story of how I got her, but she is a wonderful dog that is equally affectionate as she is regal. I had another Shiba that loved the snow before Sheba came to our family. She would jump into the snow and absolutely delight in it. Since Sheba is also a Shiba, I assumed she would react to this lovely powder the same way...even if it was over her head.
So I opened our back door and Sheba simply looked at me as if I was out of my mind. She clearly could see it was over her head and frankly my expectations of her just bounding out the door in the 2 ft of snow was a bit presumutious. Sheba also needs to go to the bathroom outside. I closed the door and told her she was going to have to wait until I could take her outside. Still looking at me with expectation...I simply had to do it, she was a creature of habit. I got my shovel, my snow pants, hat, gloves on and got the shovel and started digging us out from the backdoor. I started digging the path and invited Sheba to come out...maybe if I started she would move ahead into full Shiba bouncing motion and carve her own path. As I was shoveling I notice Sheba waiting behind me patiently, she had to go...”Really” I thought...she is not going to go anywhere but her favorite spot. So I shovel, and shovel and shovel. A long path to the far end of the yard. As I am shoveling God brings this picture to my mind about how much He loves us. Also at our inability to make a path in lifes storms on our own. Relying on His strength to go before us, so that we can simply cope with adverse conditions...even if it is only 2ft of snow. Sheba by nature, can not shovel a path anywhere mostly because she has paws but partly because she is less than 2 ft tall, and the snow is simply over her head. That’s often how I feel in light of what is going on in my life. But God sent Christ to show us how we are to walk, and yet He also is the only one that can shovel the path for us.
It’s funny...Sheba stayed on the path I shoveled but I tried to get my kids to stay on the path as an excersise in obedience. That didn’t work so well. They were making their own paths, undermining my “vision” of a network of paths for Sheba. I see myself more in their shoes, going in my own direction often times and not allowing God to be the one to shovel me a path. As a result, I fall in the snow and get stuck or worse yet I loose a boot or a glove. I love it how God shows us some little lessons even with the relationship with our animals. Eventually this lesson that I was trying to press upon the kids, they joined in and we made my system of paths for Sheba to go make her “yellow brick road” so all is well and happy.
Let God shovel your path!
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