Natural Instinct

This is one of our goat dogs.  I'm not sure if he has a name.  He's happy and content laying around on our lush green grass - right by the road that's on the side of our house.  I'm sure people wonder why he is there - in fact we wonder why he stays there.  He's actually supposed to be "in" the goat pen with the goats, but many months ago - last summer, actually - my husband moved some of the goats from the small field to another field near by.  When he went back to get the dog, he was gone.  He had left trying to go where he was supposed to be.  That natural God-given instinct kicked in and the dog knew he had to leave his regular pen and care for the goats in another pen, too.

Time went on and July 4th came around.  The dog had been going back and forth between the two fields of goats - one across the street and a little ways north.  The other behind our house. The celebration fireworks scared the dog and he ended up getting back in his original pen - at least for a while. A storm came and he jumped back out!

During this whole time my husband has tried to catch the dog, but he wouldn't come to him or anyone (and still doesn't), except one neighbor lady.  She can talk to him and even pet him, but he doesn't stay there long, either.  It's like he knows if he stays anywhere, he'll be caught. My husband had a few others try to catch him and one guy did, eventually, but the dog jumped the fence (a high fence) and got out.  It's just that natural instinct that tells him he's got to be with those goats - and all of them in two different pens!

The dog looks thin and malnourished.  I know people wonder about him.  We put food out.  He has access to water in the goat pens and when we water the grass (which is daily).  He probably scares people that walk down that road, though they would scare him more!  He'll bark occasionally, but not too much.  He's a goat guard dog.  That's his job.  He's doing just what he is supposed to be doing - just in his own unique way!

Think about your own life.....
What are you doing?  What kind of natural instinct do you have?  We were all created in the image of God, so our natural instinct should be to love Him and to serve Him, but the world sometimes gets in the way and our instinct gets skewed.  As a mom, I have a natural instinct to care for my family.  It's an instinct given by God, but if I'm not careful the world can mess that up, too.  The world will tell me my life is all about what I want and not about serving others - even my family. The world will tell me I must have "me" time - time for entertainment and pleasure at the expense of my husband and children.  Is that what God wants from His children - His creation?

Our goat dog amazes me, really!  I watch him move from our yard, to the back field, then to the further field.  Watching, checking, guarding, protecting.  Kind of sounds like God, doesn't it?  Except on a much higher scale and with a whole world of people?  God is there watching us, checking on us, guarding us, and protecting us.  I like that natural instinct, don't you?

(Note:  With goat dogs, supposedly the owner isn't supposed to "make friends" or they won't be good goat dogs.  But, since this situation - where my husband can't get near the dog - he's decided to make friends with the new puppy we have that will be another goat dog...for another field.  Right now he's  living in the back yard with our family dog and happy as can be! :)