Lessons from a Boxer

In leiu of Corrie's blog of "Lesson from A Bird", I'd like to input my blog of "Lessons from a Boxer". Especially, if that Boxer was Rocky Balboa (on my top 5 list of movies), however, what I am writing about is about my dog, Sadie, who is a Boxer.

In an impulsive decision, I bought Sadie on New Years Eve evening with my girlfriend Corrie. My uncle had always loved boxers, and it rubbed off on me. In fact the first dog, I purchased, which was in 2001, was a boxer, named Cavi. I lost her to do my small apartment. However, I decided to go the route of getting another one. Here is a pic of her

after her first week at my house:

Shortly after getting her, I realized just how hyper she was. Her energy levels, were not normal. In fact, I have a 7 foot fence in my backyard that she figures a way to jump over.

Sadie however, was the sweetest dog I have ever owned. She would do anything to be petted, loved on, and hugged. She loves attention. You barely whisper her name and her tail begins to wag over 100 mph. She grew up under the mothership of my other dog, Joey, a basset hound. They have gotten along phenominally well. However recently, I ran into a problem.

A old YL kid moved into my house for a couple of months, before moving to college. He had a Rotweiller/German Shepherd. Well, you guessed it, that dog attack Sadie, not just once, but many times. Since then she has been on complete defense. I should have protected her better, but I let the problem get out of control. She began to realize she was a 55 pound dog, and realize there are other dogs who should could "take" easily. Including, small, sweet, Joey. She has been on the loose to attack Joey now. So this has become a huge problem.

Here's my first observation...First, we are all like Sadie. We are brought up in the innocence of being a child of God. God takes joy in our little boy heart and loves just how much we love life, and love when people love on us. All of sudden, somewhere into our life, something comes into our life, be it a person, a sin, a desires, and many other issues. We then go on defense immediately to protect ourselves. Not realizing that our Father will protect us. We try sheltering ourself from the things that will hurt us, but then it becomes our own pride that hurts us. We live on the defense.

So back to my story....I then decided to take Sadie to a dog park (where over 30 dogs were). The minute she walked into the park, she tried to eat everything that came in her way. I lost control. I had no idea on how to fix this problem. She was out of control. Then along came a huge 300 pound African American man, who gave me some advice (the Holy Spirit...haha). He said that anytime that Sadie acts that way, that I need to pick her up and put her on her back and hold her down until she submits to me. So I tried, and boy did she ever fight back, even against me. Doing whatever she could to not submit. The interesting thing I found, was that she finally submitted. When she finally submitted, she was allowed to have freedom, and actually enjoyed the dogs, that she thoughts was hatefully attacking her.

How we are like Sadie! We want to go through life defending ourself. Against friends, family members, and even our Father. What ends up happening is that we still get hurt, because they're are still things out there that are stronger than we are. All God wants to do, is simply submit to him. In our submission, we experience freedom. In our defense, we experience imprisonment. I believe God's ultimate goal in our lives is for us to learn that He is control. That He becomes more in control and we become less (Jn. 3:33).

Since this day, Sadie has learned and continues to learn on a daily basis, that she is not in control, I am. Now I must learn from her, and do the same with my Master.

Life is so simple. I just make it complex. God has designed this as a journey, and this journey requires a leader, and I must learn I am not that leader...He is.

By the way, right now, Sadie is laying dead asleep beside Joey after a great meal she just consumed. Ah, life with freedom!