Wagon

I am not sure what she has done but my yellow lab has further injured her handicapped leg or hip and is not able to walk but a few steps then her legs give way. So instead of walking to the pet sitter...my husband drove her there and helped her to the outside mat that she hangs out on while she too is on her weekend stay. Last night when we got home, I put a blanket in the wagon, not knowing if she was any better and being prepared if she was not ...and headed to the sitter's house to "retrieve" her. She was so glad to see me but still unable to walk....and slid on her rear end as fast as she could get to the gate...to greet me. What a sweet girl....I lifted her 75 pound body...into the wagon...without interference or uncertainty on her part, and we headed home. As I was walking and looked back to check on her...she was in her original position, laying down but with her head high in the air alert and watching... truly content, I think, knowing we were headed home. Her life was in my hands...I was her caretaker...and she loved and trusted me....because she knew I loved her.

Sometimes I just wish God would pick me up and pull me in His wagon, giving me the freedom to just lay back, stay alert and look around at the scenery as we passed by it. The more I thought about it, the more I thought that is exactly what God has offered for me to do. To trust him to lift me into his vessel and transport me on my journey heading home. Sometimes his wagon is the wagon of trials, sometimes delightful events....but always He is the one who is pulling it.....and he knows the way to the heart of his home....and as long as we stay secured in His wagon...not ambitiously and actively trying to seek a way out...then we remain in the hands of a caretaker named Jesus who loves us and wants the best for us....and will continue, no matter what circumstances that are before us, lead us and guide us back to his home of safety and security.

Oh but how many times do I fight the fact that I want to be the one pulling the wagon...not riding in it. But in reality I am handicapped just like my Bentley dog...I don't have the ability to walk without stumbling into a bad attitude, or a bad habit, or a mean spirited motivation or self centered prideful stance. I trip up so many times....but the way I figure it is if I am willfully a rider in God's wagon....and look with joy at the path that he has taken me down...knowing full well that he does have my best interest in mind....as well as His glory...and If I stay focused on the relationship I have with Him and the love I have for Him,
I will be able to hold my head tall and relax in appreciation for the care that he gives to me each day.

We have often heard the term, "falling off the wagon"....in this story if would be jumping out of the wagon....but I was curious about the falling off the wagon origin...and it is as follows...I found the last line to be interesting....in relation to our choice with accepting help from Christ.

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080611113238AAoINoz
"Though the phrase "to fall off the wagon" can allude to any number of vices, it usually refers to a person's failed attempt to give up alcohol. After doing a bit of research, we uncovered the origin of this temperate expression.
In the late 1800s, many Americans campaigned for a government ban on liquor (crazy, we know). Those who chose to live the sober life were said to be "on the wagon." Mavens' Word of the Day explains that in this case, the "wagon" was actually a water cart used to hose down dusty roads on hot days.

Basically, saying that a person was "on the wagon" was shorthand for "they would sooner climb aboard a water cart to quench their thirst" than have a drop of liquor. We doubt many demonstrated the vow by actually jumping up on carts, but the phrase makes their commitment clear.

The proposed ban on alcohol, known as Prohibition, eventually became law in the United States, but it didn't really work out the way advocates had hoped. After all, you can't force a person onto the wagon -- you gotta let 'em climb aboard themselves. "

This is just a story about a dog being pulled in a wagon ....by a loving caretaker. But the dog was lame and needed help...
we too are lame...and need help and someone to care for us and pull us down the road of life...towards our ultimate heavenly home. It is a choice that we all get to make...do we jump on Christ's wagon of safety and security....that is motivated only by a pure and unconditional love or do we make the choice to stay grounded by the world's pulls and limp along without a vision of hope for a heavenly home. You choose!

Dear Lord, Thank you for the blessings and lessons that you help me to see in everyday events. And thank you for my Bentley...You have taught me many a lesson as I have cared for her. Amen

As a side note! There is a God driven book written about Bentley that tells the story of her tragic accident when she was 8 months old that left her temporarily paralyzed and ultimately handicapped...she was only given a 5% chance to ever walk again....and God was and continues to be honored through her success. The title is "Raising Bentley" by Cathy Jodeit.