Purpose

To say he's athletic is an understatement. Our dog, Mighty Joe, sure does live up to his name. I would definitely say he shows great power, skill, strength or force; the words my dictionary uses to define 'mighty.'

This past Saturday, my husband and I were out working in the yard. Our daughter will have her senior pictures taken this week and we wanted to have some of them taken on the bridge overlooking the pond. Weeds needed to be pulled, rocks needed to be placed around the waterfall and pinestraw had to be laid to provide the right background we had envisioned. We let Mighty Joe join us while we worked.

When we first got Mighty Joe, he didn't understand that he was a retriever. After spending a day teaching him how to fetch a ball and consistently telling him, "You are a retriever," he caught on quickly and now is rarely seen without a ball. He literally spends hours dragging his ball from one end of his 'bark park' to the other. Sometimes he amuses himself by tucking his ball into a stack of firewood and going after it with all he's worth.

On Saturday, with tennis ball in mouth, Joe came over to me and dropped his gooey prize at my feet. I threw his ball and returned to pulling weeds. It seemed I could only pull a weed or two before my fine Chesapeake was back, waiting for me to throw his ball again. I could tell it was a bit irritating to my husband, who was also outside working; after all, technically, Mighty Joe is his dog. Not to be deterred, however, Mighty Joe resisted my husband's whistling and coaxing and continued to bring his ball to me.

As he continued to streak after his ball and leap into the air to nab it before returning to me, I thought about his intense focus. No matter where I threw his ball, he knew enough to keep his eyes on the ball, retrieve it and return it to me for the next throw. Although it was uncomfortably warm, his mind was bent on retrieving. He didn't let anything dissuade him from what he viewed as his 'purpose.' I thought about Ecclesiastes 9:10a "Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might;" (KJV) God used our dog to provide the perfect visual example of this verse for me.

When God has something for me to do, can He count on me to focus on the task, never taking my eyes off of Him, until the task is completed. Or am I distracted when others would have me get involved in another area? Do I let the inconveniences I encounter, become excuses for me to quit, or am I willing to persevere in spite of uncomfortable circumstances?

I love the way God uses the simple things in life to teach us profound truths. My desire is to complete those things God has asked me to do in order to cultivate the characteristic of the person in I Corinthians 4:2 "Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful." (KJV) What is your 'purpose'? Will you choose to be a faithful steward today?