Daily Delight
One year ago, I adopted a poor, lost Jack Russell from an animal shelter. I called her Nae, and she quickly made me the happiest dog mom alive.
As it would turn out, a few months into owning her, she began making it a habit of running away from my home to roam the streets. At first, this baffled me, as I could not understand how a dog who came from nothing could leave love and niceties to run away to dangerous, dark, and dirty places.
I have now come to believe that despite my best efforts, my dog continues to return to dangerous spaces similar to her shelter life because those spaces are familiar. And, as much as I would find it easy to judge her, I am afraid that none of us are different from her.
We all gravitate toward that which is familiar.
Studies have shown that there is a subconscious process in our minds that leads us to become attracted to what is familiar, even if what we have become accustomed to is not the best, even if they are hurtful and harmful. This explains why it is so difficult to appreciate a healthy relationship when all we have been exposed to were hurtful ones; it explains why we resort to unbecoming habits, even when we realize that these habits do nothing but cause us more pain; it explains why, even when God calls us to a new, beautiful thing, we feel afraid and doubtful because the unknown is a call from what is familiar; it explains why, even when we have so much love to receive, we seek satisfaction, validation, and fulfillment elsewhere.
Thankfully, even when we are lured outside of the presence of God, just as Hosea bought back Gomer every time she would run away, God calls us back home into His presence to a deeper level of intimacy that satisfies and saves.
It's this sort of unending grace that helps me to appreciate, Romans 8:38: "Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love?" Nothing. And it's certainly an unending grace that prompts me to show my Nae grace whenever she returns home after running away.
{photo: @tanyavophotography}
About the Author
Dentrecia BlanchetteDentrecia is a creative nurturer from the island of St. Kitts who is learning, growing and evolving with Christ, grace and a smile. She is the Founder of Sugar For Your Heart (@sugarforyourheart) – a ministry that’s focused on creating quiet and safe spaces where individuals can explore and better understand and appreciate emotional and spiritual wellness.
Dentrecia is also a counseling psychology graduate student at California Southern University. She is committed to dispelling the myths and stigma associated with seeking mental health treatment, particularly in the Caribbean and Christian community.