Everyone loves a well-behaved dog. My dog is not that (yet.) Sometimes he is. He is safer when he’s well-behaved, which creates a wonderful bond between us. But when he is off-leash, he runs. He runs fast and far. I become anxious because of the danger when he runs on his own as he does not understand a car can hit him, or a wild animal in the woods may get him. We are all happier and safer when he is on-leash.

First Chronicles 27 – 28 says, if you seek the Lord, He will be found by you; BUT if you forsake him, He will reject you forever.

The word ‘forsake’ has the connotation of going off-leash, doing my own thing, not consulting Him.

Thankfully, every time I seek Him once more, running back to Him, submitting to Him, I am accepted again. I love that this is not once and done. At some point, I will learn, and even now, am learning, to stay in the place that brings peace between us. Instead of seeing submission to Him as a repressive leash, I can see that I am connected to the Vine. And in that Vine is Life.