Monday, April 6, 2026

Lucy, a normally fairly compliant and anxious dog, quickly wandered off into the woods beyond her boundaries one snowy winter morning at our family cabin. I called her and pressed the button to activate the tone on her collar which usually causes her to return to me without question. Not this day. She had a mind and will of her own that she was following (and probably her nose too) that morning.  I returned to the cabin and waited, watching out the window, knowing she’d eventually return. About fifteen minutes later she returned to the yard from her expedition in the woods. She hesitated at the edge of the woods, watching for me. As I came out of the cabin, it only took a glance from me in her direction for her to drop her tail. She knew she’d gone to places she wasn’t supposed to go. She slowly walked toward me with her tail down. I reached down and gave her ears some scratches and greeted her. She now just wanted to me to show her I still loved her. 

Then it dawned on me that I’m too often like Lucy. I find myself going places in life that I know displease God and aren’t within His boundaries set forth in His Word.  After I’m done exploring the area outside His loving boundaries, in place to keep me safe, I make my way back to Him with my head down and my tail between my legs so to speak, looking for His forgiveness and reassurances of His love for me. 

Just as Paul writes in Romans 7: 15-25, I too often don’t do as I should do or do what I know I should not. My challenge today for myself and for you, friend, is to continue to strive to know and follow His path more closely by reading and studying His Word, asking for His help and being in community with other believers for help and accountability.

Father, forgive me for those too-often times I stray from Your boundaries and Your will. Help me each morning to not conform to the ways of the world, but to be transformed by following You.  I pray for Your help and guidance as I seek to understand Your will and Your way for me. Thank you for Your endless patience with me. Help me to delight in Your will and place Your law in my heart, helping me to acknowledge and understand it more and more each day…