By Dawn Early
Growing up I always heard, “y’all are like two peas in a pod.” It is just a funny way to say y’all are just alike. You may laugh, but most days my pod consists of me and two dogs. They have studied me so much; they know exactly what I am going to do. They understand words and commands, and they have their own language to each other.
They are both special and unique, and they sure love me unconditionally. My Belgian Malinois has to lead the way and do a perimeter check wherever I go. She is searching for any dangers. My Rottweiler stays right beside me, ready to protect me if something slips by Gypsy. I love that they protect me and love me so much that they would fight until the end before they would let anything get me.
You may be thinking, “How in the world do two dogs relate to our relationship with Christ?” A few years ago, I went through an awful wilderness journey, and liked to have not made it out alive. And those two dogs went through it with me. One was five and the other was a puppy. All I can say is my Malinois saved my life, and although Pebbles was a puppy, she was there, too. Those two were a gift from God, that I did not know I needed. As much as I love them, I can promise you they love me more. Which is the same way Christ loves us.
Going through that wilderness journey was unexpected and it blindsided me. I was so out of tune with God’s will that it made me a ticking time bomb. Looking back, I cannot believe how awful my life had gotten. There were contributing factors that were not of my making, but in the end, I have to put some of the blame on myself. I was not going to church, not reading scripture, and not praying in the way I should had been. As much as I had studied the word, Satan found a way in.
All I can say is, I never want to go down that rabbit hole again. I am writing this because I know firsthand that evil is always lurking around waiting for an opportunity to pounce. So, I will share a little on how to fight the devils evil off because I learned the hard way.
It was not an easy climb out of that miry pit, but I was determined to be back on solid ground. I had to mend some earthly relationships, but most importantly I had to mend my relationship with God. Robby took a minister of music position from a previous church where he had served. Walking through those church doors were two broken people. While we may have been broken, we were wanting God to be first in our lives.
It was not easy for me because I had severe social anxiety at that point. I rarely left home without someone with me. But walking back through those doors was the best thing that had happened to us in a while. I got back in the word vigorously, my prayer life was getting better, and my heart was healing from the hurts it had endured.
While my fur pod tries to protect me in the woods, I have a divine pod that does protect me from the devil’s schemes. But it is up to me to prepare myself with the trinity’s guidance. God gave us Jesus to save us, and by believing in Jesus the Holy Spirit comes and lives in us. I do not ever want to suppress the Holy Spirit that far down again. My path was so dark, and that scares me to know that if I do not continually seek God’s will, I could slip again. To some degree or another we all have trials and tribulations we will face. I pray yours does not put you in the place I was in.
My advice is stay in church. If you are not, find one. Please be diligent in reading and studying God’s word. Make your prayer life stronger. God tells us how to protect ourselves in Ephesians 6:10-20, by using his armor. Commit those verses to memory, and make sure your pod has Christian peas in it. But the best three peas in a pod are in the Trinity: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Early is a member of Union Church, Clarke Co.
