Last night we were driving back from El Paso, where Lee had some training over the weekend. There’s a border patrol stop on the way home, and the children were fascinated by the dogs that were walking by each car that stopped.
We explained that they were looking for drugs. We had to explain what “drugs” were and why they were bad. The dogs and their handlers were looking for people who were not obeying the law. Both David and Bethel were interested, so we kept talking, and at one point mentioned that working dogs must be obedient. They must obey right away, and they are happy when they are following their owner, just like we are happiest when we obey God.
They kept asking questions, so I started telling Dargo stories, about a German Shepherd we had growing up. We started Dargo in Schutzhund training, which prepares dogs for police work: tracking, defense, obedience, and so on. The problem was that Dargo wasn’t well disciplined, and he was never a success, even though he was a skilled tracker and highly intelligent.
They kept asking questions, and I was enjoying getting obedience mileage out of the topic.
Finally, they fell silent, and I felt thankful that God had allowed this discussion. I pray that I am alert to more real-life examples of God’s principles. I used to wish for a book of examples like this, but I’m starting to realize that while someone else’s examples can give some encouragement and inspiration, they aren’t nearly as helpful as those flowing out of a parent’s own life and walk with God. What real-life examples have you used lately to teach God’s ways?
We have a restaurant that we frequent a lot and have gotten to know the manager. When we were there on Friday during the busy lunch hour, the manager started to wipe tables and clear trash. One of our kids asked, “isn’t he the boss, why is he doing work like that?” which opened up a great discussion on servant leadership. I was so happy to have that real life example.
We’ve never seen drug dogs – that would be really cool.
What a great opportunity, Shelley! Praise the Lord for a good example, and that your children spoke up, and that you took advantage of the situation. Reading your example made me pray all over again that God would help me to be aware of these in my own life today. Thanks for the comment.