Close to three years ago, my husband and I rescued a red heeler from our local shelter. She was due to be put down in just four days from the time we took her home. You know, I say that we rescued her, but she actually has rescued and adopted us.

This dog is the smartest and funniest heeler I’ve ever known. And that is not just because she is the ONLY heeler I’ve ever known. My previous fur babies were lap dogs – Westie and Shih Tzu ones to be specific. But they had crossed the Rainbow Bridge, and it was my hubby that wanted a bigger, older dog from a shelter. So having this sweet girl that was much bigger and stronger than my little lap dogs was all new territory to me. And I can honestly say that I was intimidated by this new addition to our family. 

Fast forward through the years, I have gotten to know her better and have become very comfortable with her. And while she and “daddy” have their special connection and play style, it is very obvious that she and I have our own unique and special bond. I’m the one that gives most of the affection, and she’s the one that soaks it all up and gives it back to me.

We didn’t know anything about her past prior to adopting her with the exception of what the vet could actually share. She has been shot (probably more than once given the bird shot still in her back rear), and her teeth are worn down from gnawing on bars – most likely from being kept in a cage for long periods of time. In registering her chip, we found out that she was at one time a stray from over 6 hours away from us. So how she ended up at our local shelter as a stray is unclear, and quite frankly, a bit incredible.

Because of her having such a hard life, and it being evident that she is on the mature side, we strive to give her the absolute best life possible now. This girl is spoiled, and we will wear the hat, the t-shirt and the badge to show it. She deserves the best after having to live her worst.

As part of giving her the best life now, she gets special treats. And one of those is cool whip. This dog LOVES cool whip! I have a routine of putting it on my coffee each morning. And she has the routine of waiting at the refrigerator for me to take out that magical red can, press that white top, cover my coffee top with whipped topping, and then walk right over to her bowl and use it to form a heart in her bowl. You could pull out 5 different things from that fridge, but she will only react to that red can. It’s hilarious and amazing all at the same time.

One morning, I decided to surprise the heeler and give her a double portion. We are careful with the sugar intake, but on this particular day, we were going to splurge. Well, I went to make that heart, and she started to lunge for it. But since I wanted to give her extra, I had to physically hold her back with one hand while trying to give her the extra in her bowl at the same time. She was pushing against my arm so hard to try to get to her treat. 

“But, Mom!!! There’s cool whip in my bowl!!!!”

I was able to get that double portion in her bowl when she stopped pushing and started trusting. Once I finished and let her go for it, she was doubly excited!! She could tell that it was extra, and she was actually a giddy heeler!!! 

That experience got me to thinking. She didn’t know that I was planning to give her a bonus portion. All she knew was that she was ready for the usual routine of what she got each morning. So when I made her wait at a time that she generally didn’t have to wait, she pushed against it.

Then God used this experience to speak to me. It made me realize that I am doing the same thing to God. I am in a season of waiting. God is holding me back for a time right now, and I realize that I have been pushing against His arms. But just like me holding back the heeler so that I could give her more, God is holding me back while He prepares a bigger portion of blessing for me. And just like our sweet heeler, I need to stop pushing and start trusting.

It’s really a simple analogy, but if you put a cup under the faucet, turn on the water to fill that cup, but yet you yank the cup away as soon as the water starts to hit it, you don’t end up with a full cup. The longer you leave the cup under the running water, the fuller it gets. And that is the same with us and Jesus. We have free will to yank our cup away, but oh how much fuller it would be if we would just leave it for Him to fill it up!

We need to not push against His arms to get to the cool whip. We need to leave our cup under the water for him to fill it. If we are praying for God’s will in our lives, and if we are seeking His direction, then we need to LET HIM DO IT. We have no idea how big of a portion (blessing) that He is trying to give us. 

Resist the urge to pull away when you think you’ve got it. Be willing to not lunge forward in your own timing. Be careful not to cut the blessing short. He wants to bless and give direction. Be willing to wait for it. And I will, too.

Our heeler gets so excited when she sees that red can of whipped topping. She actually dances when I walk towards her bowl with it. It makes me so happy to be able to give that treat to her. And when she waits patiently for it, it allows me to make the cool whip heart bigger than the days that she starts going for it as soon as it hits her bowl.

We need to do the same. I need to do the same. Stop pushing. Stop resisting. Pray. Wait. Trust. And then, at His perfect timing, it will be time for us to be giddy and dance because of the double portion of cool whip in our bowl!!