Obedience School

I have been taking our 7 month old lab/retriever to obedience school for a few weeks now. I have gone from completely frustrated with her to falling in love with her. I mean I liked her, but now spending that time working with her, I am amazed.
She learned in about 4 minutes lastnight to stop jumping up and to sit when she gets excited. I really think that our trainer is the dog whisperer's daughter or something!
I take our dog to obedience school to help her to obey. (What a thought, right!)
She couldn't do it on her own. She needed training. Guess what! We can't obey on our own either. We are sinful creatures just like Daisy! Without Christ we cannot obey the things we need to obey. Following Christ isn't all about rules, it is freedom, but we have to be obedient to follow the path He has laid before us.
We have a friend who came to us and told us that he knew God wanted us at their church. We were literally suffering where we were and dreaded Sunday morning. We didn't want to change the kids from another church family ( even though it didn't feel like family). After praying we obeyed God and are the happiest we have been in a long time.
Daisy (our dog) is starting to learn to come when called. If she doesn't learn this, she could be hit by a car. If we do not learn to obey the Lord, we could get hit by a spiritual car. We could get into some pretty hard times and places if we choose to ignore that still small voice.
Fortunately we don't need obedience school. We do need to learn His word and will through reading the Bible and prayer. Obedience school may seem easier than listening somtimes ( I know this, trust me.) but it comes easier all the time. It is all a part of growing.