No Time To Walk the Dog and God's Will

Mollie

When my schedule becomes overwhelming and I think my daytimer is going to explode with commitments, I have a quote that I speak to myself:

There is time every day to do the will of God. - Roy Lessin

You might think I repeat this quote when I'm preparing to do a good deed like visiting somebody in the hospital or when I'm pulling out my Bible to read a message in the psalms, because, after all, those seem like times when I would be doing the will of God.

That is not when I tell myself this quote.

The #1 time I repeat this quote is when I'm flying around the house in the morning trying to get six things done at once and my terrier/retriever is following me with puppy-dog-eyes hoping I will take her for a romp in the park.

It is in this circumstance that I most often tell myself, "There is time every day to do the will of God."

You read that correctly. The #1 time I repeat this quote is in regard to walking my dog!

What?!

How can walking the dog be part of the will of God?

I can understand why you might be asking that question.

Here's what I have found to be true:

Each of us has many commitments that we make. They are what I call a Big Yes. Sometimes we make those commitments on the spur of the moment, without analyzing all the smaller yeses that make up the Big Yes. We see the Big Yes as part of our life's purpose, but not always the little yeses.

It is the little yeses, the repetition of the daily and monotonous, that wear at the schedule and cause the calendar to implode.

So, here is my thinking.

Committing to a pet is a Big Yes. A 10-14 year commitment. (That's a long time!) Part of the care for our dog is taking her on daily walks (or almost daily walks). My ability to walk Mollie is one of the barometers telling me if my calendar is too busy.

No time for the dog = too busy.

You have your own daily, repetitive tasks. Which takes me to the next step in my thinking. If it's true that there is time every day to do the will of God, and I find myself not having time or not being able to fulfill the little yeses as part of a Big Yes, then one of two things is true:

1. It's not the will of God.I

t's not part of my life purpose and I should feel no guilt in taking steps to eliminate it from the calendar.

2. It is the will of God.

If I don't have time, then see #1 again. It's time to back out of some commitments so I can focus on what I need to be doing as part of my life purpose.

(This is especially true after a change in life circumstances like a new baby, caring for an elderly parent or an extended illness.)

That's it. If there is time every day to do the will of God, then all our tasks, caring for people, commitments and responsibilities, both large and small, can be fulfilled each day. If there isn't time, then we are left with only two options: it's not God's will or we have said yes to other things that are not God's will.

I use this principle in regard to my dog and all the other commitments I make.  My ability to fulfill the little yeses causes me to re-evaluate the Big Yeses in my life.

How about you? Do you have time to walk the dog?