Complete Joy
By Shelly Schumacher
“I will be glad and exult in You; I will sing praises to Your name O Most High.”
Psalm 9:2
I love my dog. A little Cairn Terrier named Gracie. She is such a playful and silly little dog. One of my favorite things to do with her is go for a run. Because her legs are only six inches long, I can’t take her more than two or three miles, but to see her go, you would think she was running an ultra-marathon.By Shelly Schumacher
“I will be glad and exult in You; I will sing praises to Your name O Most High.”
Psalm 9:2
Gracie loves everything about running with me. Her joy begins before we even make it out the door. No matter where she is in the house, she can hear me lace up my shoes. She comes running into my closet and dances around at my feet. She follows me from the bedroom through the house, her excitement mounting with each task in my pre-run regime. MP3 player – check, sunglasses – check, GPS watch – check, hat and mittens – check, lip balm, blow nose, windbreaker – check, check, check.
She runs around in circles with her tail wagging and ears alert until I grab her leash and collar –
FINALLY we are ready to go. The first quarter mile of every run, Gracie sings her joy as she happily barks with each stride I take. She dashes ahead to peer into a storm drain, pounce on a leaf or smell something another dog left behind. She is in her glory.
As our run settles in, Gracie and her little legs match me stride for stride as she works hard to keep up the pace, and I am humored by God’s plan when I consider that this little running dog ended up with 5’1” owner. Sometimes Gracie tires during a run, especially if it is a really warm day. But I always see her perk up when we round the corner for the last quarter mile of our three-mile loop. Our house clearly in sight, she wags her tail and joyfully presses on toward the goal of the finish line.
Running with Gracie reminds me of the joy we can to have in our Christian walk. It’s possible to face each task we are given with exuberance. Even though we may grow weary in our walk, we must press on toward our final goal and finish well. Our daily walk with Jesus would probably look much different if we approached it with the same joy that I get to see every time I am blessed to run with my special little dog.
GOING DEEPER:
1. How do you demonstrate your joy for the Lord?
2. How would your days be different if you had a daily attitude of joy?
FURTHER READING:
Psalm 5:11; Luke 1:47; John 5:11
Shelly is wife to Nick and mom to her two girls. She spends her time freelancing as a writer/PR professional, and is active in Oakwood's worship and drama ministries.
