Pursuit – April 2019
I am the proud mom to three teenagers and a purebred German shorthaired pointer. My days are filled with the typical busyness of most families. Almost every morning and some evenings, whether I’ve slept well, eaten yet, or finished my morning coffee, I find myself trekking through our local park whether I feel like it or not. Our two year old little love’s activity level demands that she run for a minimum of a few hours each day. Within the park, there is a beautifully large gated area where the community can let their pups run - but our dog simply won’t run inside those gates. She was born and bred to hunt birds.
Sometimes we take her inside to play with some of her friends. She runs off a few hundred calories and then stands at the gate waiting to explore. Thankfully, there are huge fields with pine trees, birds’ nests, run-off tunnels, long grasses, cattails, and retention ponds... all surrounded by athletic fields encompassing this beautiful, large community park. We are blessed.
Benelli is now just over two years old and it’s the time of year where everything is springing to life. There are birds everywhere… squirrels, chipmunks, snakes, rabbits, and foxes just to mention a few of the wildlife we see everyday. Generally, she runs off-leash and can easily reach 30 mph - so she can cover a large distance in just a moment’s time.
Some mornings, I stand in the same position for fifteen minutes, while the little one trembles and shakes as she sets her sights on some oblivious robin. She moves forward, inch after inch, creeping towards her goal - understanding that she was bred to flush out wildlife. But she never quite understands that she will never be able to catch the bird who eventually senses her presence and rises in flight way out from beyond her reach. She runs and runs while the bird rises high above her… and eventually flies out of view. She then circles back to mom.
In those moments when she is fully focused on her goal - nothing is able to break her concentration. She’s a purebred shorthaired pointer. Virtually no amount of dog training, whistle direction, or firm beckoning will distract her attention. She has one thought, one goal, one aim, one ambition, one desire… to get that bird in her sights. (And in case anyone is cringing at any insensitivity to animals - she is bred to flush out birds - not attack.)
Over the past few months, I have been on a hunt - not for birds, but for truth. I have some pressing questions concerning my faith and my beliefs that I would like answered. Not questions of morality that are clearly laid out in God’s Word - but questions as to my beliefs on what Scripture outlines to be right and good living for today. Today... in our modern society, where we are bombarded on every side - even within our Christian communities - to accept and embrace all. All lifestyles, beliefs, “best” practices… all things modern, current, contemporary, and cultural. We live and breathe alongside neighbors, family, strangers, and communities - where we are cultured and bred to believe and accept that if we feel it is good - then it must be so.
But beliefs run deep and set the stage for all that happens once embraced and given root. Beliefs are born in the mind, accepted as truth and acted upon by our will… and no amount of training, direction or firm beckoning easily distracts our attention. Beliefs set the trajectory of our entire lives.
To be fully honest, I never wanted a dog. This is my family’s wish - come true. She was chosen by them, brought home by her dad, and trained by my husband and kids. I never would have chosen such a bundle of life with an activity level such as hers. My travelling wings are clipped by this bundle of joy in our home. I would have chosen a houseful of fifty kids before taking on training such an intense breed. She is intelligent and determined. She is everything a purebred of her kind should be.
And so I feel lost, at times, to train her, to walk anywhere but the state game lands with her… I know that, if given the chance, she will always choose birds over me. There is no amount of getting the purebred nature out of this one. She is prey-driven before anything else…. At the end of the day, when all the dust has settled and she is bathed and snuggled down with me in bed, I finally relax. She has finally chosen me over the bird and I am at peace.
And so, on this quest for truth, I have been asking God to teach me every morning as I take this shorthaired pointer out for a walk… teach me to be so focused on Him, that nothing distracts me in my pursuit to know Him. To know His ways… to be more like Him. That as I seek Him, my heart would be sanctified and purified in grace and mercy. That I would never flaunt any Godly understanding I receive so as to become irrelevant to others. May I become salt and light to expose truth despite any obstacle, cultural norm, or distraction.
I know this matters. I know God wants women and men of God to seek Him. To seek out His righteousness at any cost. Proverbs 4:5-7 reads, “Get wisdom, get understanding; do not forget my words or turn away from them. Do not forsake wisdom, and she will protect you; love her, and she will watch over you. The beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom. Though it costs all you have, get understanding.”
And so today, I don’t know what you need wisdom for… Maybe like me, you have questions you’d like answered, problems you’d like fixed, situations you’d like changed. May I encourage you to be a warrior woman of God and pursue Him. Set your gaze on Him. Wait for Him… Be encouraged by His Word of Truth. Be enlightened by His Spirit. And though it costs you all you have - get understanding.
Because everyday when I walk this boundless bundle of energy, and watch her careful pursuit in carrying out what she was bred for, I am keenly reminded to keep my eyes on the prize - the high calling of Christ Jesus… “I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3:13-15