Fighting the Dog

I fought the dog, and the dog won. I fought the dog, and the dog won.
That was the song my little #2 sang many years ago. He was confused about the words to the song, but yesterday I was singing it myself.
We tried keeping Captain in the kennel that used to house baby boy goats and is no longer needed. After a time or two in it, Captain escaped. So yesterday we installed wire fencing around the bottom of the kennel to keep him in. Less than an hour later, the dog was nearly completely through the fence. So we installed a third fence over the first two, this time made with even heavier guage wire. Guess what. Yep, he got through it.
I spent the afternoon and evening in hopeless despair. Captain is only still here because Kelly, our first dog, was the same way when we first got her. She escaped from the old fence, the new fence, and the reinforced fence. She ran away countless times, only to come back when she wanted fed. After years had gone by, Kelly settled down- in her old age!- and we didn't have the same fight on our hands.
That's why I keep thinking it will get better with Captain. He has to get better once he is older, right?
I imagine God looks down on us with the same exasperation. "I told you where to lay your head, now why are you sneaking out the gate?" Tiptoeing back onto the porch at 1:00 a.m. we try to slide back into God's house, but he knows where we have been. He's no fool. Luckily for us, Jesus came first. Because of Jesus God is willing to wait a little longer for our childishness to wear off. Someday we will choose to stay on the Master's porch even when other dogs walk by and wag their tails at us.
-------

By the way, I put a heavy cinderblock in front of the place where Captain gets out, and he stayed in the kennel for about three hours. Perhaps I will soon sing, I fought the dog, and I won!