Molly is a rather self-serving type of dog. We love her dearly, but she is selfish nonetheless. Especially with food.

We have two cats and two dogs, all which have their own eating space on the deck. And they all know how to mind their manners except for you know who. For example, when she is given her portion of food, she doesn’t begin eating immediately. She waits until we aren’t watching so that she doesn’t appear too grateful or eager. But what she loves doing the most is guarding the crumbs. Sometimes crumbs will get caught in the cracks of the wood or there may be a morsel of bread in the crack between the dog houses. If so, you will find her standing guard over it for the entire day, growling at the other animals if they happen to walk by the tiny treasure. She takes ownership of the crumbs even though they are out of her reach. I usually grow tired of her attitude, go out and pick the crumbs up, and give them to the cats.

Control

Obviously, it’s not the crumbs themselves that are so appealing to her. It’s the control that she has over the crumbs. I wonder if we’re ever like that. Do you feel uncomfortable when things are out of your reach? I do. But God is patiently teaching me that things which are out of my control call for my prayer, not my power. God alone has power to change things. By grace, I am learning to trust in God’s power and not stand guard over the crumbs of life that are out of my reach.

Jesus said to Paul, “My power is made perfect in weakness.” Molly and I have a lot to learn, but one of us is at least trying!

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By Gwen Scott Simmons. Copyright © 2007 by GraceNotes. All rights reserved. Use of this material is subject to usage guidelines. Scripture take from the NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION ®.