Walah! ....Not Quite

We're learning a lot from the new puppy in the family.  I've been very transparent about the fact that I don't naturally love animals.  Most are cute from a distance, but I don't necessarily want them in my house.  My third-born is an animal lover and has been begging for (another) dog for a while. She promised to do anything I ask for the rest of civilization, so I caved this summer, and we now have Lulu.  I can honestly say I love her.  She's cute and doesn't shed, so that helps.  It would be great if she didn't chew my shoes and favorite pens, but life is tough and she does.

In the three months since getting her, we haven't exactly succeeded at potty-training.  At the time we decided to get her, we were in the process of putting in a fence for the back yard. In my mind, I envisioned opening the back door, letting her outside to do her business, and walah!, she's trained!  Kinda like trying on a new pair of jeans, things didn't go quite like I imagined.  The fence took much longer than expected, and because of rain and pool work, the backyard resembled a mud pit until just recently.  Three months later, there is still no grass in the backyard (don't even ask).

Because of the muddy mess and no grass, we've been taking her out to potty through the front door.  This requires a leash and sometimes an umbrella and a coat.  NOT what I had planned.  Often, during the day, I get preoccupied and miss her cues trying to tell me she needs to "go".  To add even more joy to the task, we've been trying to teach her to ring a small bell attached to a string hanging from the doorknob when she needs to go out.

Sometimes I remember the training tips for this and sometimes,......you guessed it.  That means sometimes she rings the bell when she wants to go out for the bathroom, and sometimes she rings it when she just wants to go out and play.  And sometimes, she occasionally poops on my rug.  Lovely.  Again, it's a good thing she's cute. 

The bottom line is, life happens and we've been inconsistent.  Front door, back door. Grass, dirt. Ring the bell, don't bother with the bell.  I should probably be thankful she ever goes outside, honestly.  I keep thinking that once the grass has finally grown back in the backyard (who's ready for Spring?), all this will miraculously get better.  But the truth is, it will only get better in direct proportion to our consistency. 

It's made me think about how important consistency is. I'm often very good at being consistently inconsistent.  I say one thing and do another. I start a diet and stop; begin a book and don't finish.  "I'm never eating sugar again!" I proclaim as the day begins.  And then as night falls, I retreat to the comfort of my beloved oreos and milk. As humans, our very nature seems wired to be inconsistent. Some folks are more disciplined than others, but we're all inconsistent in our own ways.

We try.  We have good intentions.  Declarations to be nicer, more giving, kinder to the person who drives us crazy are often short-lived based on the latest emotion that grips us.  "I would've been nice; I had every intention of being nice, but you have no idea what she did!" 

Inconsistency is often the crazy culprit that keeps us from being Parents of the Year, too.  Our kids know when we aren't following through with our claims.  They recognize empty threats, and those destroy trust.  One time, when asking my son why he doesn't pick up his room like he's asked every. single. day., he replied, "Because I know you aren't really going to make me every time." It hurt to hear, but he was right.  Like training the dog, I wanted his room-cleaning to happen quickly whether I was consistent or not.  I dreamed of telling my son ONE time to clean his room and walah!, it was cleaned every day with a cheerful heart. What world was I living in? It takes work to follow through every day.  It takes time and energy to be consistent. The results are worth it, but the effort is often a struggle.

God, alone, gives us the perfect example of consistency.  He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. (Hebrews 13:8)  He never forgets, never changes, and never leaves.  He is perfectly consistent with discipline and yet is also consistently full of grace and mercy. We can trust Him always.  He doesn't turn His head from us with preoccupation, He everlastingly meets us where we are, and He is a constant source of help.  He loves thoroughly and guides completely.  He never fails and never runs out of energy. 

I long to imitate His consistency in love and faith and everyday life.  But my good intentions are often met head-on with a depraved bent that makes it difficult to follow-through.  It doesn't mean I've failed.  It simply means I'm human.  Those very faults point me to the only One who walked the earth perfectly.  He Is, and I am not.

The one best place to start being consistently consistent is in our time spent with the One who is The Always.  I'm not suggesting this as a method, a rule, or an extra commandment.  I'm simply suggesting that we learn to consistently bring God our praise, get to know His faithfulness, turn our hearts to Him in every situation, good or bad, and worship Him for what He has done for us.

As for the now, I must go.  Lulu is ringing. Walah!