Sit!

I live with a bundle of unbridled energy.  It just can’t be contained.  Of all the cocker spaniels I’ve had the pleasure of living with, Noah has the most nervous energy of all. All cockers have this nervous, hunting dog energy, but Noah was given an extra dose!  He just can’t contain it.  It seems that all the others have matured at varying paces but then they hit a wall so to speak, usually around 2 years old, and suddenly they have matured.  The nervous energy becomes contained and they have some ability to have self-control.  Noah is approaching 3 years old, and he has not hit that wall yet.  There are a few things, two in particular that set him on an uncontrollable spasm of kinetic energy. Those things? Blowing leaves and trash trucks. According to Noah, taking Deandra to school in the mornings is nothing more than a hunt for all the trash trucks you can find. They may be in parking lots or in front of us or behind. Who knows where the next one will appear, so being alert is of utmost importance!For us the command SIT! has become invaluable.  It has slowly developed over the years. At first, as he was learning the command, I would say sit and he would touch his bottom to the floor and then instantly pop back up as though he had set on something very hot.  No matter how many times I gave the command the same thing would happen, he clearly knew what I was asking, he just couldn’t sit.  Slowly he learned to actually sit for more than an instant, but then he would just shake. All of the energy he had was boiling away under the pressure to be still.  Today we have arrived...for the most part.  I can issue the command and he will promptly sit and unless there is a blowing leaf or a trash truck he will even lay down for a LITTLE bit.  We haven’t truly reached the resting point in the command to sit. But at least he is sitting in my presence when I invite him to sit. As the trash truck went by today and Noah started his racing, barking, jumping, – who are we kidding, he was having a party in his tiny little head!  I thought about how important it is for us to learn the command to sit.  Not sit in the natural, as in sitting to watch tv or to eat dinner but sitting in the spiritual as we rest quietly before and with the Lord.  And as I thought about that, I came to the conclusion that when it comes to sitting with the Lord, I am more like Noah than I would like to be. I am easily distracted by the blowing leaves and trash trucks of my world. Things that keep me from sitting quietly. Things that are pretty and good and worthwhile, but out of place when they keep me from resting in the presence of my Lord. And oh my, I can’t tell you how many times I have sat down to spend time with Him, and then remembered 20 things I need to get done. Or this one is a common one for many of us. ‘I am in a hurry now, I will spend time with Him later.’  And later never comes. Sometimes, it’s as simple as I have something more fun, or more important to do than sit quietly and rest with Him. REALLY?  Really?  Is there anything better? No, but in choosing to franticly run around after the trash trucks and leaves of our lives, always giving up that quiet time of sitting in His presence aren’t we saying there is something better? There is plenty of time to pursue the “other” things in life if we order our lives well and God gets the first place.  Get things out of order and life will experience unnecessary trouble. Learning to sitting with the Lord takes a bit, ok maybe more than a bit of maturity on our part. And I admit, we start out bouncing back up like we have set on something hot. But learning to enjoy sitting in His presence is worth the effort of learning the command and how to obey it. So, this is my goal, I hope it can be one for you as well. The next time we hear the Lord invite us to sit with Him don’t hesitate. Sit relax enjoy His presence.