Dog-ed Devotion

My cutie-pie Terrier mix does the same thing every morning. He waits by my bed until I get up, follows me to the kitchen while I get a drink of water, waits outside the door of the bathroom while I take a shower, then keeps me company while I dry my hair and do all the other mysterious girly stuff all we ladies do. Toward the end of my prep, he always - always - nudges the blinds on the door that opens to the back patio off my bathroom. I open the door and he trots outside, does his business, then comes back to the patio and sits. He looks out over the yard, sniffs the air and takes it all in. He doesn't bark, he doesn't socialize with the other dog or the cat. He just sits. After a few minutes he gets up, gives himself a shake and comes back inside, ready to return to my side.

This morning as I watched him on the patio I realized how rarely I do exactly what he does every day. When was the last time I stepped away from my busyness and took the time to appreciate the good things God has poured into my life? Even more to the point, when was the last time I took the time to just be still? My goal is to read my Bible every day, but I rarely stop my plans to get it done. If it is done at all, it usually doesn't happen until bedtime. Why can't I take ten minutes to listen to the words of my Savior and gaze on His majestic creation at a time during the day when I am not completely exhausted? Ten minutes! I can certainly carve ten minutes out of my morning for the Lord.

How embarrassing that it took a dog to remind me to be still...