A Loose Leash

Meet Nelly. For the past two months, she's been working her way into our hearts a little more each day. One of the (many) things I love about her is that she reminds me so much of myself. She really, really wants to be good - she loves us so much - but sometimes she just can't bring herself to do it. After a lot of  "good" in one day - maybe she's obeyed my husband's every command and had a great night at obedience school - she is likely to "blow it" by expressing her pent-up energy in a number of unacceptable ways. At those times I look at her and say, "Nelly, you only have so much good in you for one day, don't you?" or, "It sure took a lot of energy for you to be good all day, didn't it?".

I'm learning so much from training her. We take her to obedience classes for some basic commands (our local shelter gives 6 free group lessons when you adopt). She's learning things like sit, down, heel, and climb (see left). But I think I'm the one getting the most education.


Our trainer/teacher, Amanda from Dogtastic, does a great job teaching the owners how to be good leaders. One of the things she taught early on is that it's important to keep a loose leash when training a dog, except for corrective techniques. Many owners make the mistake of keeping a dog on a very tight leash, and the dog certainly learns to heel or sit or down when the owner gives them no other choice. The problem is that when the owner wants to move away from keeping a leash on the dog at all times. Then, the dog often appears to forget everything that has been taught, and the owner things that leash training has failed.

Walking with a loose leash while teaching the commands, however, enables the dog to truly learn to choose to obey the commands. The owner is right there to protect by reining in the leash in case of danger or distractions, or to utilize corrective techniques when the dog doesn't obey, but the dog ultimately learns to choose to obey and gradually can be weaned from the leash so the commands work anytime, not just when walking on a leash (which - by the way - you should ALWAYS do even with a well-trained dog).

It didn't take me long to make the spiritual connection. I've sometimes wondered why God lets me mess up and have to deal with consequences. But I'm a lot like Nelly, and I probably wouldn't choose obedience if I didn't go through the process of understanding what happens when I follow my way instead of His.

The law was a lot like a tight leash - people "had" to obey and never learned heart-level obedience. Grace, however, places us in a whole different relationship with the obedience God asks of us. We obey out of love, out of relationship, out of an understanding that His ways are better even when we don't understand the details. We obey from a loose leash instead of a tight one.

I'm glad to know that God is there to rein me in if there is a danger or big distraction approaching. But I'm also glad to know He loves me enough - and understands my nature enough - to teach me obedience in a way that allows me to choose. And at that place where my obedience comes from the heart, I line up with His will and find that beautiful union of free will and sovereignty. It's rarely easy - but it's always right.