Begging to be petted…

This is Frankie. He wants to be petted. He does this about once every half hour or so. He puts his little front paws on my leg then stares at me with his sorrowful, little, puppy-dog eyes until I give in, stop work, and pet him. After about 15 to 20 seconds of petting him, I stop, tell him that’s enough, he looks at me for a while to see if I’ll pet him some more, then he’ll run off to play somewhere else.

I’ve thought about what this tells me about our relationship to God. Petting a dog is an act of affirmation. The stroking to them is like the grooming they give each other and especially the cleaning a mother dog gives her puppies. So every time we pet our dogs we are telling them we love them, and doing so in a way that reminds them of the way their mother treated them. Even beyond that we are rubbing our hands across glands on their face and body that excrete a scent that is unique to that dog, and is so subtle that we can’t smell it, but they can. When it mixes with the oils and other scents on our hand it creates an additional unique odor that re-enforces the bonding between the dog and us.

One of the most basic desires every human has is to desire the presence of God. It permeates our being to the core. Most people fight it, and deny it exists, but it is an elemental part of why we were created in the first place. To take time to be still and let God make His presence know is a rejuvenating and invigorating experience. Doing it on a daily basis is an important part of every Christian’s life, and shouldn’t be ignored.

—Danny

“Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.”—Psalm 16:11