Do you feel like my dog George?

I run in the path of your commands, for you have set my heart free. Psalm 119:32

This is George. Recently, I was taking a picture of our gate. George heard me. He poked his head out and cried as I took the pictures.

Seeing George there reminded me of a conversation I had in December. I was walking at White Rock Lake with Ron Snell. Ron and I were talking about our desire to be in the game of life and not be spectators.

We talked about how easy it is to be spectators. We talked about conversations we have had with other men. We talked about how many of us end up stuck on our couches watching hours of television, or day dreaming about what we would do if we had more money, more time, better health, or wishing we had more discipline to act on any number of things.

I don’t want to be like George. I don’t want to be stuck in the backyard dreaming about running free or crying to be taken for a walk.

There are dangerous side effects when George doesn’t get regular walks and runs. He tends to store up energy and frustration. When George escapes, he ransacks the neighborhood. I cringed the time he was chasing someone in their yard. He thought they were playing as they were running from him. I also cringed the time Vela came home and screamed at me because a neighbor screamed at her as she was retrieving him from their yard. Have you noticed any of these side effects?

What do you do to keep from being like George?