Our Stories
Obedience Class
By Kim Hjelm | posted 02/26/2009
"If you love me you will obey what I command." John 14:15
She grows still; her body tenses and her ears lay back flat against her head. Her eyes are alert and focused. A low growl begins to rumble deep within her chest. Translated into English: "Step away! This is mine. You can't have it."
Let me introduce you to our 4-month-old Golden/Lab/? mutt that has nearly tripled in size (40+ pounds and still gaining) since we adopted her 2 months ago. In mid-December she was a roly-poly ball of black fluff that easily could have been mistaken for a bear cub. With our Scandinavian roots (hey-we have a 'j' in the middle of our name!), we went for the Swedish word for 'bear' – Bjorn – softened it up with an 'ie'; we call her Bjornie.
It did not take long to discover that Bjornie is a strong-willed puppy and would need lots of training. We quickly enrolled her in Puppy Fundamentals. This class is designed for young pups to start them on the road to becoming the ideal pet and companion; you know the dog that lies quietly at your feet in front of the fire, the one that fetches the newspaper, the one that greets you with a smile and a wag when you enter a room, the one that never chews things, runs away or makes messes. Yeah, that kind of dog.
Well, Bjornie takes things quite literally. To her, Puppy Fundamentals is some sort of hybrid class. FUN (duh) + mental. This actually turned out to be partially true. The FUN part is called 'Puppy Free Play'. All the puppies are taken off their leashes and allowed to run free in the classroom. They become a rolling, churning, nipping, yipping ball of multi-colored fur careening from one end of the room to the other. It breaks up occasionally when there is a high pitched yelp and Diego the Jack Russell gets rescued from underneath Ladybug the Mastiff. But the pause is short-lived and off they go again. Next comes the MENTAL part...the actually training. This is the part of the class that requires the mind and soul of the dog. This is the part of class that requires obedience. This is the part of class that Bjornie...well let's just say she did not do as well with this as she did with the FUN part of class. This is the part of class that Bjornie interpreted as NO mental. Oh she would sit, lie down, and even stay sometimes as long as there were treats involved. But boredom quickly set in and she would either take a power nap (getting ready for another Free Play at the end of class) or try to get the attention of the puppy next to her (this usually involved lots of noise and activity). In other words, she was the class cut-up. It became clear Bjornie is not really into this obedience thing.
At home Bjornie is even less obedient...in fact she is downright disobedient. The opening few sentences to this article describe Bjornie at every meal and when you get near her as she guards a prized possession, be it a bone or the neighbor's Beanie Baby. As you can imagine this is a problem and is taking a lot more trips to the trainer than we had planned. But what has hit me is the parable that is unfolding before my eyes.
Obedience is a deep, multi-faceted word. The Encarta Dictionary defines it as: the act or practice of following instructions, complying with rules or regulations, or submitting to somebody's authority. Even as humans, most of us don't really have this at the top of our list of favorite words. Something deep within us tightens up when we are asked to be obedient. As most of you know from watching Cesar Millan, The Dog Whisperer, the number one rule to dog obedience training is to become "The Pack Leader". This means you are the authority; you are the one making the rules and giving the instructions. This lays the foundation for all training and without it there will be no success. How does this relate to me and my faith? Hugely!
Who is my "Pack Leader"? I can blithely say, God...but is He? Do I follow His instructions? Do I comply with His rules and regulations? Do I submit to His authority? Or do I guard (with a fierceness that could rival Bjornie's) parts of my life, parts that may be deeply embedded in my heart? Am I following the example of Jesus when he says, "...but the world must learn that I love the Father and that I do exactly what my Father has commanded me" (John 14:31). What has the Father commanded? To "love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind." And to "love your neighbor as yourself" (Matthew 22; 37-38 – emphasis mine).
This sort of obedience does not happen over night. It takes numerous Obedience Classes and maybe even a do-over of Puppy Fundamentals! Eugene Peterson says it well - A long obedience in the same direction (actually quoted from Friedrich Nietzsche). Maybe it is time to take a good look inside your heart, soul and mind...what are you guarding and not giving up to God? What are you labeling "mine", when you know that all we possess belongs to our Father?
Bjornie and I will be signing up for Puppy Fundamentals-Part 2...anyone want to join us?
To respond to this message, email Kim at kim.hjelm@gmail.com.
