Gò0dNews for Everyone
Walking With Molly
T
by Shelley Knick
he night our souls parted ways in this life was the
species overlapped. My leadership in her life was not about ego
night I understood how God used our eighty-pound
or control. While a matter of responsibility, this discovery was
German Shepard, Molly, to reveal His vision for
rooted in a sincere love affair.
our walk together. As I held her in my arms on that rainy
God is, by definition, always the Alpha. The beginning. The
night at the vet, my mind wandered to the beginning of our
creator. The master. His Alpha position is simply a fact, much
story. The orphaned dog that we had adopted was classified
like my humanness in my relationship with Molly exists as fact.
as an “aggressive breed.” This left me with the weight of
Whether she humbled herself to my lead or not, my species
responsibility to train her. Before long, I was deep into the
is in authority over hers. That authority does not guarantee
study of pack leadership: a model of dog training where
a harmonious relationship. Even simply meeting basic needs breeds familiarity, not harmony. Acknowledging the facts of the natural order is basic. Cultivating a relationship through the daily walk can trigger inspiring potential. Through consistent, intentional time together, dogs have even been known to develop human qualities. Have you experienced the purity of a balanced walk with a calm submissive animal? It is peaceful. It is relaxing. It is harmonious. Contrast that with an unruly, imbalanced, aggressive, or assertive animal that is constantly fighting for command. It’s tense, frustrating, and stressful. During our walks, I began realizing what it is like for God when He and I walk. My attention was scattered. I seemed to jerk impulsively and constantly
establishing the Alpha position and engaging calm-assertive
fight His lead. Also, in my excitement, I could get ahead of
energy are the critical ingredients to achieving a balanced,
Him, even on the good things. Basically, I came to realize I was
harmonious relationship.
trying to walk Him rather than walk with Him.
Perhaps it was the simplicity of this philosophy that inspired
It became increasingly obvious that everything I really
me or its relatedness to many human dynamics. The path to
want in my relationship with God does not come from what He
becoming the Alpha in your relationship with a dog is mastering
does for me, but in the harmony cultivated through traveling
the walk. For our relationship to work, I had to become Alpha to
with Him as my Alpha. My calm submission offers the gateway
Molly. This meant I had to take on the character, qualities, and
to an electrifying hum of energy between us. It’s in striding
most importantly, the energy of the Alpha. This insight was like
in that space where the power ignites. Tensions are absolved.
a glimpse into what it was like to be God. We commonly read
Radiating vibrations are catalyzed. At the time in my life when
of a parent-child analogy with God. But I suggest even more
Molly arrived, my ideas of a powerful, fruitful relationship
inspiration may live in a parallel about the bond formation
with God had become practically hostile in contrast to these
between two different species.
new insights. With each walk, came a wordless sermon.
were both deep. Though we didn’t speak the same language, think in the same intellectual plane, or walk in the same posture, the magic of our connection lived in the space where our two
20 // March 2022
About The Author
Make no mistake about it, my love and respect for Molly Shelley is an aspiring writer. She is also a nurse, a wife to her high school sweetheart of 22 years, a brand-new mama to their miracle baby, and a new resident of Rome after moving from Washington state.
