Gò0dNews for Everyone
Walking With Molly—Part 2
T
by Shelley Knick
raining sessions with Molly continued to grow deeper,
impulse would be to kneel down to her, hold her sweet face
offering more insights. One day, in particular, still
in my hands to remind her, “We are two different species my
stands out. In the world of Washington state weather,
dear. You are missing the point here.”
the days seem to vacillate between romantic summers,
Tears filled my eyes when I thought about God seeing
painfully harsh winters, and chronic in-betweens of blah.
all my trying and failing and holding me close nonetheless.
Routine walks would often take on the temperament of
He likely saw effort, fight, and perseverance—qualities He
the weather. Which is to say, Washington weather and
respected, perhaps admired. Likewise, he saw my impatience
Washington moods are not that far apart.
and demanding responses to failed expectations. It hit me
Molly, however, became a constant for me. Her mood was steady when mine was not. It was humbling how she looked at me with admiration and reverence. She lived for our time together. Molly had a past that was unknown to me. When she came into my life, I knew nothing about how she might have been abandoned. I knew only that she looked like she had recently nursed a litter of puppies and was now discarded. She had lived some years and accumulated some experiences. Her path had refined her, and this intrigued me. Like Molly, at that time, I was a mother without her children and geographically far from my family. Unlike Molly, I had not been used and abandoned along a country road. My story wasn’t overtly tragic. But I had accumulated
that I was ambitious to be awesome like God rather than
enough years and experiences to leave my soul familiar
awesome with God. When we walk with God, we become
with being dislocated in life, detached from purpose, and
a unit. Ultimately, we share in God-Likeness because of
seeking to resolve an ache that consumed me. When Molly
our harmony. He offers transcendent qualities beyond our
arrived, she came with her breeding mate. He was strong and
species. We offer him a vessel, a character, and a reach that
relentless in his will. When they were together, she was his.
is uniquely human. Absent of Him, our striving is in ego. In
After we found him a new home, she and I walked together
truth, He teaches us that relationship is transformative and
like two women in their thirties trying to figure out our
transaction is religious.
purposes together. Something about her poise and elegance made me
Inevitably, Molly gets distracted and defaults to her animal instincts. In response, I apply training techniques
proud of her, though I wasn’t responsible for these qualities.
on the walk to bring her mind back to calm submission.
It was admiration. I wondered what it would be like if she
Restoring our peace becomes my primary objective, as it is
knew how I thought of her. If I felt this way towards her, I
with God. “Like water spilled on the ground, which cannot be
considered how similarly God thought of me as we walked.
recovered, so we must die. But that is not what God desires;
Then I imagined her growing insecure and anxious because she had big ambitions that she wouldn’t have if not
rather he devises ways so that a banished person does not remain banished from him” (2 Sam. 14:14).
up on two legs, to walk and talk with me? Would she grow guilty and wrecked with self-defeat because she couldn’t do more human things? This seemed ridiculous to me. My
46 // June 2022
About The Author
for knowing me. What if she began pressuring herself to stand 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.
