Great progress! – Lucy (CASM 40)

Precious Lucy, my fur baby, has made great progress with potty training. When Jesus says call unto me, it works for all situations, including training a dog. God continues to use Lucy to mature me for His use.

Choosing to see the progress

The training process was very challenging. There were good days and certainly bad days. Every day I needed to make a conscious choice to see Lucy’s progress no matter how small it was. God constantly reminded me to look at every day regardless of the outcome as an opportunity to teach and love her. In those moments when Lucy relieved herself in an off-limits area and the day before was the perfect dog, by the grace of God, I chose to see the progress. I must choose each day to apply this principle to all areas of my life. Even though progress may be slow or look different than what I think or feel, I must trust God’s plans.

As I continue to walk daily with the Lord, it has become much easier to surrender and submit my life to Him. Especially those things that I think He has forgotten about or I struggle with. The key is choosing to walk daily with Him despite my flesh. That means spending meaningful, intentional, purposeful, quality time in studying the Bible and letting the Holy Spirit shed light on my circumstances. Praying with a victor mentality and trusting the sovereign God that I will reach my destination intact. Resting and residing in His promises to me and speaking them back to Him. Deciding to review my life, not for condemnation, but to meditate on the transformation by God’s love and power. Basking in amazement and giving all glory to the Lord for the great progress of Carol.

Thought reversal

Just as easy as we can think of the things that we are lacking, we can think of the things where we have made great progress. Thought reversal is possible by the supernatural strength of Jesus. We can reject those things that exalt themselves against the knowledge of God, and bring into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ, ll Corinthians 10:5.

More discernment

When Lucy went outside of the designated area, I asked myself why. I wanted to make sure that when I disciplined her or withheld a treat I was being fair. For example, if we had guests over, she would get excited, and sure enough, I would find a puddle. I understood that it was overstimulation and let it slide. I still took her to the designated area as a reminder and showed her love, but no treat.

Forfeiting treats and blessings

Lucy has forfeited so many treats, kisses, and belly rubs because she chose to take care of her business in the forbidden zone. She succumbed to laziness, stubbornness, disobeying her mom (smile), developed an I don’t care attitude, etc. How many of God’s blessings have we missed out on because we chose to rebel against the Lord. Just like I want to shower Lucy with unlimited treats for obedience, God wants to shower us abundantly above that with His blessings.

Our disobedience usually comes with more severe consequences than Lucy’s. Be warned again that we can choose the sin but not the consequences or the duration. When Lucy has been disobedient, and I give her that look of disapproval and show her what she did. Her head and tail hang low, and those cute eyes let me know she realized she messed up (I fall for it every time). Praise God we can confess our sin, and by His faithfulness, He will forgive and cleanse us from all unrighteousness, 1 John 1:9.

The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: A broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise. Psalm 51:17 KJV

In conclusion

Lucy is my gift, and I am very thankful for her. She brings me joy, and it is an honor to be her mom. I must continue to nurture our relationship, but more importantly, I must nurture my relationship with Jesus. The Lord has shown me so much about Him through using Lucy. Don’t dismiss God’s unique ways of getting your attention.

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