I took Norah out after I got home tonight. Since it’s below 90 (that’s a big deal in TX), I thought I’d take her out to do her favorite thing: retrieve the ball from the Chuck It! All I have to do is say “Chuck It” and she goes crazy!!
Well, she was taking longer than I wanted, & under my breath I uttered, “This is annoying…why do you have to sniff EVERYTHING!” Then I called her name. She looked up…made eye contact even, and then went right back to walking around…and sniffing. My frustration grew. “NORAH!” I yelled, “Come here!” Again, she stopped looked right at me, and kept sniffing (the air, the fence, the tree…you name it). That time something burned in me. I was getting so mad at her deliberate disobedience. And then I heard His voice: “Leigh-Taylor, you do the same thing sometimes.”
Oh, no He didn’t. But oh, yep He did.
God was using this very moment to teach me a life lesson. I had a feeling the lesson would continue as I grabbed the Chuck It. I was right.
Norah heard the sound me picking up the ball with the Chuck It, and she immediately ran toward me. In fact, from that point on, I had her undivided attention.
In the field across from my apartment, I launched the ball far into the air. Norah ran, got the ball, and brought it back to me. She would keep her eyes glued on me, only moving as I released the ball and said, “Go get it, girl!” One time, she dropped the ball several feet from me, and expected that I come to her. I had to tell her twice to bring it to me. She finally did….and only then did I launch the ball. We did this over and over for quite some time.
In our own lives, there are times we say we want to walk in our God given destinies and know the purpose for our lives. But do we? Really? There are so many distractions vying for our attention when in reality if we would just take time to be still…to listen to His voice…we would see that our purpose and our destiny is about to be revealed & launched right in front of us.
You know something else? When I launched the ball and saw Norah run full speed ahead doing something she LOVES to do, I laughed. It brought me so much joy to see her enjoying something she was born to do. God feels the same way about us.
Take time. Be still. Listen. Obey. And then go get ’em! Go full speed ahead and do what YOU were born to do! Sometimes those distractions seem worth it in the moment, but I bet if we could ask Norah if she would prefer to be back on one side of the fence sniffing around, or out in the wide open field chasing her dream, I’m thinking she’d say the latter.
Thank You, God, for taking an ordinary night, and teaching me an extraordinary life lesson.
‘Now to Him Who, by (in consequence of) the [action of His] power that is at work within us, is able to [carry out His purpose and] do super abundantly, far over and above all that we [dare] ask or think [infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts, hopes, or dreams]— To Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations forever and ever. Amen (so be it).” Ephesians 3:20-21 Amplified
SIFTED 