Bathing Dogs

Have you ever given a dog a bath?

It’s a really funny, very active few minutes as the dog squirms and twists and tries its best to get comfy as they face the undesirable and inevitable reality that they’re currently facing. Some dogs may enjoy the process, but most I’ve seen try to fight it with varying degrees of intensity.

My kids and I gave my mother-in-law’s dog a bath the other day and it was hilarious to see his attempt to escape, only to finally succumb to my kiddos dragging him back into position under our outdoor shower head.

There was no way Oakley (that’s his name) was getting out of this. He was getting a bath whether he wanted to or not.

The one thing that was in fact in his control, though, was his reaction. He could fight his situation or he could accept it. He could thrash angrily or submit and calm himself; either way, the end result was going to be a cleaner him.

When’s the last time you faced something unpleasant and misaligned with what you wanted in that moment? Maybe it was a slew of red lights when you were running late, or that longer than necessary meeting you had to sit through.

And, how did your emotions determine your response in those moments?

When you’re facing the bad and ugly part of the good-bad-and-ugly in life, do you fight back fiercely like a dog who doesn’t want a bath? Or, do you find a deep breath and navigate what’s in front of you one step at a time? Are you quick to anger at someone who you see as in your way, or are you able to calmly accept your daily circumstances and embrace the uncertainty with happiness and ease?

So many times in life the one thing (besides our own breath but that’s a whole other subject I could go on and on about, haha) that’s in our control is our response to whatever is happening right in front of us.

No matter what we face, no matter how big or small, no matter how wonderful or terrible, we get to choose, every time, how to respond.

Do you let your emotions rule your reactions?

Or! Do you condition yourself to patiently evaluate your emotions and then respond?

Reaction or response?

And to make that choice, you have to be intentional about your own emotional health. Just like our physical health, our emotions are something we need to prioritize, foster, examine, explore, and take responsibility for.

In 2 Corinthians 10:3-6 it says:

The world is unprincipled. It’s dog-eat-dog out there! The world doesn’t fight fair. But we don’t live or fight our battles that way—never have and never will. The tools of our trade aren’t for marketing or manipulation, but they are for demolishing that entire massively corrupt culture. We use our powerful God-tools for smashing warped philosophies, tearing down barriers erected against the truth of God, fitting every loose thought and emotion and impulse into the structure of life shaped by Christ. Our tools are ready at hand for clearing the ground of every obstruction and building lives of obedience into maturity.

- 2 Corinthians 10:3-6 (MSG)

Whether we want to admit it or not, our emotional responses are the only thing in our control.

And honing our emotions and keeping them protected and aligned with the truths of God is our call as Christ-followers. It’s also, as this passage reminds us, the way God shapes our lives into maturity.

If you want to feel emotionally healthy, remember, one choice at a time, that it’s in your control.

Just like a dog facing a bath, your circumstances may be inevitable. But your response to your situation is up to you, one experience at a time.

And here’s my favorite part about dogs and baths. What do they do afterwards? They shake it off! They intuitively know how to manage their emotions through movement.

So, if you’re feeling like your emotions are a little out of whack today, try the bathing dogs response – get up right now and literally shake your emotions back into a sense of order, remembering that how you feel is up to you.

And, that attempting to infuse health into your emotional well being is exactly the way God invites you – all of us – into a life of maturity with Him.

Love you!

Kyle Moss