Spring has arrived, my second favorite season! I love seeing the flowers bloom and the grass turn greener. Coupled with the days growing longer and the sun setting later, it’s also Ella’s favorite time to explore the yard. She loves smelling the flowers, nibbling at the bushes and chasing the bumblebees. Despite supervision, she still finds opportunities to get into trouble. Whether it’s eating the bushes that causes her to throw up or trying to catch the bumblebees in her mouth and getting stung, managing her can be a challenge.

Today was one of those challenging mornings that started out like any other morning. During our outing, I kept her busy with our usual game of fetch. I have about seven or eight tennis balls in the yard, and I just keep throwing them in every which direction. She runs after them even when she already has a ball in her mouth. I was able to keep her busy for several minutes until my phone rang. That’s when I lost track of her momentarily. When I located her behind the bushes, I noticed what appeared to be a young rabbit in her mouth, and I lost it. I yelled for her to drop it, and after the third time, she finally did. I waved her into the house, and she came in without a problem. She knew I was upset with her. My husband told me not to reprimand her because she was just doing what was natural for her.

I read that dogs are considered natural predators, and rabbits are prey. You can train your dog not to go after rabbits; however, you can’t get rid of the instinct entirely. This is who they are. Shepherds, while not considered hunting dogs per se, will go after smaller animals.

I love Ella so much. She is an amazing dog; a wonderful companion who adores me. Yet seeing her this morning with a rabbit in her mouth not only disgusted me but reminded me of who she really is. She is a dog with animal instincts. She is a predator, and if left unmonitored, she will pursue, dismember, and eat small animals. A fact that I can’t ignore.

Just as dogs have a natural instinct, we too have a sin nature. One that is just as ugly. Jeremiah 17:9 says, “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?” The apostle Paul said in Romans 7:18, “nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh.” However, the good news for us humans, is found in 1 Peter 2:24-25, “He (Jesus) himself bore our sins in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed. For you were like sheep going astray, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.”

While my sin nature is part of me; I rely on the Holy Spirit, His word, and other believers to help me become more like Jesus. Unfortuantely, I won’t be made perfect until I get to heaven, but sin doesn’t control me anymore. I hate it, I repent of it, and I am thankful that I am forgiven because of what Jesus did for me at the cross. Hebrews 8:12 says, “For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.” That’s an amazing promise, isn’t it, for those who believe?

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