lessons in dog sitting

a few months ago i started dog sitting for this sweet, black standard poodle who is a bit shy. and when i say shy, i mean runs terrified to her crate and just sits there shaking when i walk in. my first weekend with her she wouldn't come out of her crate at all...i had to use a leash to get her to come out so i could let her outside for her own relief. over the course of these dog sitting weekends she is slowly getting used to me and in rare moments will even sit next to me and let me pet her & will nudge me to keep going if i stop. anyway, after several weekends of watching her and "building a relationship" she doesn't bee-line it to the crate when i walk in the door anymore, which is great. last night i was over there (i spent the night) and there was huge storm that started around midnight. this dog is apparently afraid of storms. she started a cycle of coming out of her crate and paced around the kitchen and then coming into the living room where i was on the couch trying to sleep and kept trying to climb onto the couch with me & be next to me and then would go back to her crate...shaking with nervousness all the while.

the more i think about all of this, i can't help but correlate this to our relationship with God. Out of love He coaxes us into places that may feel strange to us, but are really for our growth and for our good...even though it may not feel like that to us in the moment. He faithfully and patiently builds a relationship with us, provides for us, loves us and comforts us when we are shaking with fear. i believe God is constantly giving us analogies and examples of who He is and how He works. may our eyes always be open to what He is showing us. interesting stuff..who knew i could learn so much from a dog!:)