Encouraging Treats

One of my favorite moments in the morning is when our dog, Copper, tries his best to wake me up so we can go for a walk outside. Usually, he would do this by constantly licking my hands and/or pushing my legs using his furry, front paws. Of course, because of his cuteness, I always end up getting out of my bed early in the morning, finding his leash, and asking him this question: “Copper, do you want to walk?”

I love asking him this question because his response always makes me smile. He would vigorously wag his tail, run in circles, sprint with all his might towards the main door, and sometimes, he would even slightly scratch my legs out of his excitement. He loves it so much that whenever he would hear one of us say the word “walk” (or anything that rhymes with walk) in our conversations, he would assume that we would take him out for a walk.

I really don’t know what goes on in his mind whenever we walk outside. But, every time I get the chance to do so, I take it and enjoy it. There’s just something nice about spending time with the dog I love and seeing him enjoy the walk too. I get to know what spots he usually marks; what he loves to sniff at; how he interacts with other dogs and people around him; what excites him; what brings him fear (e.g. huge dogs, light from flashlights/cars); what makes him angry (e.g. stray cats, angry dogs); and I even get to see how he reacts to a dog he likes.

One time, I was watching a video of Copper that I took (see video below) and it showed his delightful response to my question: “Do you want to walk?” And while I was replaying and enjoying it, I told God: “Lord, why is Copper so cute? He knows the word “walk” and he gets excited whenever he hears it!”

And at that moment, God spoke to my heart and showed me the similarity that it had with our relationship with Him. I looked at myself and wondered if I also show the same excitement whenever God asks me the question: “Hey Nic, do you want to walk with Me?” It was a humbling moment for me because I knew that sometimes, I would prefer to do something else than spend more time with God and His Word.

It says in Galatians 5:16 “So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.”

After that time, little by little, God helped me to remove the things that hinder me from spending time with Him (distractions, pride, laziness, etc.). Also, He continued to encourage me to walk with Him through prayer and His Word every day. It was amazing because He always reminded me of His love for me (even during discouraging days) and it motivated me to know Him and walk with Him more.

Walking with Copper now gives me a different kind of joy because whenever I ask him if he wants to walk and I see his happy response, I am reminded of how God is pleased too whenever we choose to walk and spend more time with Him each day. Have we been spending quality time with God and His word this week? :)

Encourage yourself one treat at a time. :)