Thank you to Dawn Haines for this week’s Blog!

 

“Sit.”

“Wait.”

“Come.”

“Leave it.”

 

Juliana’s service dog knows these four commands.

As many of you know, Juliana was born with a rare genetic deletion syndrome. For more than three years, she has been waiting for a service dog to help her with balance and mobility. On September 6, we welcomed Mumme

r into our hearts and home.  

Mummer is a Golden Retriever with a sweet disposition who will turn one on December 1. He still has another eighteen to twenty-two months of training before he receives his service dog certification. My husband, Tim, will be working alongside Juliana to train Mummer to meet her specific needs.

Over the past nine months, several families have generously volunteered their time to teach Mummer these four basic commands—sit, wait, come, leave it. They may seem simple, but they provide the foundation for everything else he will learn.

As I’ve thought about those commands, I’ve realized they aren’t just important for Mummer. They’re commands I need to follow too.

In fact, each one has something to teach me about my walk with the Lord.

Sit

When Mummer is told to sit, he actively obeys and waits for the next command. For me, however, sitting doesn’t always come so easily.

To sit means to slow down—to stop long enough to rest and listen. I think of Mary in Luke 10:39, who “sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said.”

I’ve always been more of a Martha. I’m often busy. Oh, so busy. Sometimes I’m too busy to stop and sit with Jesus. I hurry. I fret. I fill my days with constant motion, so I don’t have to think about the things that hurt. Then I fall into bed exhausted.

But when I take the time to sit at the feet of Jesus, He graciously gives me peace. There I can quiet my heart, listen to His voice, and cast my cares on my Savior. Jesus reminds me, “For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

Mummer sits and waits for the next command. Perhaps I need to do the same—to sit at the feet of Jesus, listen for His voice, and trust Him with whatever comes next.

Wait

Mummer obediently waits each morning for permission to come down the stairs. He waits before eating his meals. He waits patiently for the next command.

Waiting is another lesson my Lord continues to teach me. Psalm 37:7 says, “Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him.” To wait means to rest in expectation, trusting that God is at work even when I can’t see what He is doing.

Waiting can be difficult. Yet God promises there is strength to be found in it. Isaiah 40:31 says, “But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles.” And Lamentations 3:25 reminds me, “The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him.”

For me, waiting may be even harder than sitting. I think of Sarah, who grew tired of waiting for God to fulfill His promise and decided to take matters into her own hands. I understand that temptation. Too often, I want to move ahead, fix the problem, or make something happen instead of waiting for the Lord’s direction.

Mummer is learning that when he waits, something good often follows.

I’m learning the same thing.

My prayer is that I will learn to wait patiently and trust that my Father knows what I need, what He is doing, and when the time is right. His timing is always better than my own.

Come

Mummer is almost always happy to hear the command, “Come.” He wags his tail and races toward us, eager to be wherever we are. I wonder if I’m as eager to come when my Father calls me.

In Matthew 4:19, Jesus said, “Come, follow me, and I will send you out to fish for people.” Later, Jesus issued that same invitation to the rich young ruler: “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” (Mark 10:21).

We call Mummer because we want him near us. My Father calls me because He wants me near Him too. What an amazing thought—the God who created me desires a relationship with me and invites me to come and follow Him.

I want to respond to His call as eagerly as Mummer responds to ours. I want to come without hesitation, follow wherever He leads, and live in such a way that others will want to come and follow Him too.

 

Leave it

When Mummer picks up a toy that isn’t his or sniffs something he shouldn’t, we tell him, “Leave it.” We’re asking him to walk away from something he wants because we know it isn’t what’s best for him.

God asks the same of me.

He calls me to leave behind my old way of life—my sinful patterns, attitudes, and desires because He has something better for me: a new life in Christ. Ephesians 4:22–24 says, “You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires . . . and to put on the new self.”

But God doesn’t just ask me to leave behind my old self. He asks me to hold everything else loosely enough that I’m willing to surrender whatever keeps me from following Him. When Jesus called His first disciples, Luke 5:11 tells us, “So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him.” Later, Jesus made the cost of discipleship clear: “Those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples” (Luke 14:33).

I have to admit, “leave it” can be a difficult command for me too. Old attitudes and behaviors have a way of creeping back into my everyday interactions, especially with those closest to me. I find myself becoming irritable, prideful, or easily angered, and I wonder, Why can’t I just leave those things behind and live as the new creation I am in Christ?

Maybe that’s why “leave it” isn’t a command Mummer hears only once. He needs to hear it again and again.

And so do I.

My prayer is that when my Father says, “Leave it,” I will trust that He knows what is best for me. May I willingly let go of whatever He asks me to leave behind and follow Him instead.

 

As Mummer continues his training, I pray these four simple commands will continue to remind me of what my Father asks of me:

To sit at His feet and listen.

To wait patiently and trust His timing.

To come when He calls and follow where He leads.

To leave it—letting go of my old ways and anything that keeps me from fully following Him.

Perhaps God brought Mummer into our family not only to help Juliana become more independent, but also to give us a daily reminder of the ways He calls us into a deeper relationship with Him.

Four simple commands. A lifetime of learning to obey. And a Savior who is worthy of it all.