06/27/2026
TRUTH vs. PERCEPTION
Watching Raafi’s sharp amber eyes soak in the world…. I sit with wonder. My red headed puppy lives life abundant and full. It is no surprise that I often catch his sparkling eyes grow with joy and mischief while bouncing into his next adventure. As he slows, I catch awe and fascination in those eyes as he gazes upwards to the heavens and simply watches… I know he knows who his creator is. What are those ever so expressive eyes taking in….? Then there are times when he lies down, wishing the adventure would continue. Furry brow furrowed, he looks around with some sadness and frustration before letting the sleep he needs over take him. As his eyes open once more, he catches me and regards me… He’s considering my well-being and regarding my own emotion. Sometimes that means those once dancing, deep colored eyes, take on an aura of sorrow and grief, simply for my pain. Other times it means those eyes come to life again as he senses happiness and excitement. Oh, those eyes… what a teller of truth they are… what a window into the soul…
If I was being honest with you, I could sit outside, soaking in God’s creation, and observe the emotion in the eyes of my dogs for days… I love breathing deeply with them, feeling with them, and simply just ‘being’ with them without an agenda. Raafi is such a fun dog to watch take in the world. He’s either neutral or has some big opinions! Most of the time, he’s quite confident. Every now and then, he finds an area that rattles him a bit. Earlier this week, I was working with him at an outdoor market. He passed buy some small purses hanging on a rack. Brushing his long shepherd body against them, causing them to sway in the breeze, these silly dark hanging things deserved a cautious second look. I laughed out loud as I let him take the time needed. Through a toolbox of training skills we’ve built, I helped to communicate to him and help him feel more comfortable around them. Walking away, his confidence with those silly purses was higher than when we came, BUT…. Raafi was not entirely convinced that one was not going to open up, showing a full set of teeth, swallowing him whole! Giggling at this mental picture, I realized I was witnessing a topic in my puppy I so badly needed addressed in my own life: TRUTH versus PERCEPTION…..
This is a hard one for me. Why is it so easy, despite God’s truth, to let the lies of Satan creep in and affect us. Why is it easy to experience love and grace from others and perceive it as something that could be unsafe and harmful, therefore stay guarded. Why is it so easy to believe the lies that satan says about me instead of the beautiful, written in scripture, without a doubt truths that God says about who I am BECAUSE of HIM! 2 Corinthians 10:5 says “We are destroying arguments and all arrogance raised against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.” Satan wants to destroy us more than anything. I think about how he must be delighting in how powerful a silly little lie works. The lie has no power, no value… p**f it can be gone BECAUSE JESUS!! This verse tells us to take every thought captive to the OBEDEINCE of Christ! The Bible says Jesus is the way, the TRUTH, and the life…
I think of Raafi brushing by those purses and believing they might eat him… I think of that worry and concern in those sweet shepherd eyes that I love so much…. I DELIGHTED in showing Him he had nothing to fear… He can walk confidently… He was safe…. If I take such pleasure and joy in helping my puppy to step into truth…. How Jesus must dance over us in delight, swell with pride as our Father, and experience such deep joy as he leads us to life abundance BECAUSE of Him….
God says: I am HIS, I was made in the image of a perfect King, He looks at me and wouldn’t change a thing, I am truly loved by a perfect God, I am my Father’s child. I know who I am BECAUSE I know who God is… God wants to wrap us in the loving embrace of His truths…. Oh, how I love my Jesus…
