08/25/2026
SHINE
Seventy pounds of red sable German Shepherd Dog flies into the water time and time again. Be it a river, dock diving pool, a pond, or any other inviting body of liquid he can manage to find, Raafi wants in! At five months old, my long haired, energizer, frisbee loving shepherd dog joined our family. It has been all I can do to keep him away from the water since. At home he swishes his face in it, digs his feet in water bowls (we work hard to curb this behavior) and has even jumped in the bathtub once or twice! This dog simply delights in being as wet as he can whenever he can and however he can!
Last year, while taking pictures of my waterdog wanna be leaping into Schroon Lake, something caught my eye…. Not only did it catch my eye but it clicked in my brain and something shifted in my heart.
One of my favorite Bible verses is
Psalm 1:1-3 “Blessed is the person who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, Nor stand in the path of sinners, Nor sit in the seat of scoffers! But his delight is in the Law of the Lord, and on His law he meditates day and night. He will be like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither; and in whatever he does, he prospers.”
Raafi spends time in the water because he loves it, it refreshes him, he takes such joy in it. Likewise, My delight is to be in God’s Word… Like Raafi submerged in the water, am I submerged in the Word, in the fellowship, in the relationship with my Lord and Savior?
But see here is where it goes a step further…. If I am walking as closely with my Lord that I am submerged in His Word just as Raafi likes to stay submerged in the water, plunging Into it time and time again with such delight and joy, look at what comes off of Raafi’s coat… look at that water just spraying off….
Without any words or effort, shouldn’t there be a spray off that others notice from my life? Do they? What a thought? What a conviction?
Matthew 5:14-16 says “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lamp stand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Your light must shine before people in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.”
