Begging for Treats

June 29, 2014

This winter, my husband, Dave, started to bring treats in his pocket whenever he walked our dog Nellie.  I did not become aware of this practice until February when he was ill and I took over the dog-walking for several weeks.   In preparing me to take over this duty, Dave shared with me that Nellie gets nine treats on each walk around the block.  He told me that she’d know when she was supposed to get them and would let me know.

So, the first day I walked her, I put the treats my husband had prepared in my pocket.  Sure enough as soon as we got outside, Nellie stops walking and turns to me looking for her treat.  The rest of the walk she kept looking back at me and bumping my pocket for another treat every few yards.  She would not go forward!  She was not looking around or sniffing.  A squirrel ran right in front of us and she didn’t even see it as she was looking at me for a treat.  I was so frustrated because I used love walking my dog when I was single.  In the past she had taught me so much about being present to the moment and experiencing the joy of simply being alive.  The expectation of a treat had literally stolen the joy of the walk; not just from me, but from Nellie as well.  So the next time I took Nellie out, I left the treats at home.  For about three days she continued to look back at me at certain milestones to see if I had a treat for her.  I did not. 

For the next 72 hours, Nellie’s treat-seeking behavior increased.  She started to spontaneously do every trick she had ever learned in order to earn a treat.  She barked, she bumped my pocket, she gave me her cutest smile; in fact, when she was about 6 months old, she had developed a routine where she sat, gave her paw, and laid down immediately upon seeing a treat without being asked.  She even reverted behavior to this before she understood that I simply did not have any treats in my pocket for her. No matter what she did, she would not be getting a treat until we got home.  Finally, she was able to forget all about the treats and refocus on just enjoying her walk.

So, my husband had major surgery at the beginning of June.  He is not allowed to walk our 121 pound dog for the next six weeks.  By this time Nellie has been trained that Daddy carries treats on the walk and Mommy does not.  But, this morning as soon as we stepped outside, Nellie stopped walking and looked back at me to see if I had any treats.  I said “No, baby, I didn’t bring any treats for you, but that doesn’t mean I don’t love you.”  She seemed okay with that and turned her energy and attention to just walking and being.  I was thinking that it is precisely because I DO love Nellie that I do not bring treats on our walks.

This morning God spoke to me as I was mediating on the nature of my love for my dog.  He showed me that His love for us is much the same.  Very often when we walk with the Lord, we see him as a Cosmic giver of treats.  We keep our eyes on His hands and our energy and attention focused on His blessings.  We pull out every trick in the book to show God how good we are, how cute we are and how much we deserve a treat.  In fact, there are many who leave their houses every morning expecting some specific treat and absolutely assured that if they will just hold the treat in their consciousness, it will appear.  They will attract it to themselves.  I myself practiced this technique for a couple of years and wound up feeling frustrated, angry and even turned self-destructive when my day did not unfold as I had planned and according to MY will.

This morning I understood for the first time that when we begin our day seeking and expecting a blessing, we miss the simple joy of walking with the Lord.  We miss the blessing of His presence and the beauty of His creation.  Often we end up disappointed and frequently we think we did something wrong because God did not give us our treat.

Is it possible that God in His goodness intentionally withholds these small blessings in order to encourage us to refocus ourselves on the beauty of life’s journey?  We are all walking with the Lord as He lives and moves and grounds the being of every single human being.  If you doubt this search your own heart; you will find Him there. 

Remember the widely-circulated Footprints poem?  It used footprints in the sand as a metaphor for walking with the Lord.  Basically it says that most of the time there are two sets of footprints, one ours and one God’s.  At times of extreme stress and trouble only one set of footprints can be seen as God picks us up and carried us through trials.  It is a beautiful thought.  There is only one thing more beautiful; the Truth. 

In reality, there is only ever one set of footprints, because God never walks beside us.  He lives and moves and has His being within us.  Wherever we walk, God walks too.  Whatever we do God does too.  Whatever we see God sees too.  Whatever we love God loves too.  For some this is a terrifying thought.  Recognizing and acknowledging God’s presence in our hearts changes us like nothing else.  Suddenly we find it impossible to be unkind, judgmental, greedy, or violent.  Suddenly we realize that we do not have to DO or HAVE anything.  Everything we need to live a life of contentment is within us, if we will but BE aware of God’s presence within us.  His grace is truly sufficient for all our needs. 

Everything we need to live a life of love and kindness is ours as well, if we will but realize God’s presence in everyone and everything we encounter each day.  All the wisdom we need is ours if we will be realize that we see with God’s eyes and love with God’s own heart.  It is God that looks out from within us at all that He has created and He always knows the very best way to respond.  Try living in this Truth for one hour.  Try to focus your energy and attention on the God in you before you leave the house each morning.  My experience with this is that I when I live from this place, I seek nothing for myself.  I stop begging for and expecting treats and instead when I encounter creation, I search my pockets to see if God has given me anything to share with others.  Amazingly, my own pockets are always full with love and grace and mercy and kindness.  I can give out these treats all day long to everyone I meet and when I come home at night, my pockets are still fully stocked for my family.  This is abundance.  This is life. This is God!