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Memories! We all love the good ones, don’t we?! How grateful I am for them and was thrilled to find an article I wrote for my church’s bulletin in 2006 that sparked such a joyous memory. The timing of it was like a gift to me – it was written about my beloved dogs. Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows (James 1:17) Oh how I must have needed this, for at the beginning of February our 6 year old Saint Bernard- “Reese”- was diagnosed with bone cancer. Such sad news to digest. I’m grieved as her pain has become unmanageable and tomorrow she will be put to rest – unless the angels come for her before.
My dear husband, knew how much we would miss Reese when she isn’t with us any longer, so he happened to find another female St. Bernard puppy after searching the internet for three weeks after Reese’s diagnosis and grim time frame. We drove an hour and half to look and choose one from a litter of ten! They were just three weeks and as adorable as they all were, we found the one. A deposit was placed on her, as well as a collar and we claimed her as ours! Just over two weeks ago she was old enough to join our family. We welcomed “London” and know she will bring joy – yes, this little fluff ball will grow into a giant – needless to say, she will be in training just like all the other ones before her! I felt nudged to share the article. If you love your pets, this may speak to your heart as well.
It was a typical, warm summer morning in July as I stepped outside to take my daily walk with my two loyal walking companions… a beefy Saint Bernard – Bailey, along with a sweet faced chocolate lab - Braxton. In their excitement, they jumped and danced around me as we headed for the gate. With their barking and dog dancing, I sometimes wonder if they enjoy the walk more so than I do? It’s ritual to them. They seem to love to spend time with me and always show me unconditional love. I’ve taught them commands to keep them safe and my love for them is displayed in my care and interaction with them both. But I also learn a few things by watching them, just as do I with my own children -and now, grandchildren as well!
In this flashback to 2006, I was reminded with such a beautiful visual illustration of how easily it is for us, as God’s children, to get distracted. The Holy Spirit used such a simple, heartfelt way to get my attention. You see, Bailey and Braxton were still excited even after five minutes of walking as they strolled a little ahead of me smelling everything in sight. They were enjoying their freedom and I was already enjoying Michael W. Smith’s “Healing Rain” playing on my MP3 player and the warm rays of the sun. In my own zone of worship, I didn’t even realize I got ahead of the dogs. You see, I don’t leash them as they are trained to stay with me. I give them their freedom when we walk our farm’s dirt roads. They enjoy getting out of the fenced back yard and usually we don’t run into anyone.
Traffic isn’t an issue as our farm stretches about a mile between two country roads. I didn’t notice until I reached the end of the dirt road that the dogs weren’t in sight. I turned around, sped up my pace and began to look for them. They love to get in the ditches and cool off so I wasn’t worried. In fact, it wasn’t too long before I saw the lab come up out of the ditch and shake off. “Braxton, come,” I called out. He immediately ran towards me. I turned my music down and asked him, “Where’s Bailey?” (Yes, I do talk to my dogs; they are like my second set of kids. And yes, at times, I think I know what they are thinking – silly!) Braxton looked around, then back up at me, turned around and put his nose to the ground and began to sniff. He’ll find her, I thought, as I began to call her name. Normally they stayed together, so I was a little surprised; however, we had switched up our routes because of the beehives along the dirt roads used for crop pollination.
My view to the left was obstructed because of the corn field that stretched 25 acres. I got to the cross road where the field ended and turned left. I didn’t see her up that way either. Where in the world did she go? I wondered. Maybe she cut through the corn field, so I marched on until I reached the end of the next block of corn which is where I found her. Bailey had sat down and was panting. I gave her the look that warned her to stay with me. She got up even though I could tell she was tired. “Come on girl, you can do it,” I assured her. It was getting hot already and I decided just to head home.
Both the dogs walked a little ahead of me, but I was on watch now. When they had reached the corner of the cornfield they both stopped. Something had their attention! Oh great, I thought as I rounded the corner and saw the coyote at the bottom of the corn field with both dogs bolting that direction. “Braxton, Bailey, come!” I shouted as I heard the coyote’s high pitched call to the dogs as well. Neither of them even turned back to even think about returning to me, whether they heard me or not. They were simply determined to do their own thing...chase the lure.
In my simple mind, coyotes were like wolves - wild, traveled in packs and devoured meat. That meant dogs, cats, sheep or whatever else they could capture to eat. My beloved dogs were running potentially toward danger! I started to run and continued to scream their names as I kept my eyes on the coyote. It yipped again as the dogs approached him closer at high speed – it darted into the cornfield before they reached him. Oh Lord, I prayed, protect them from harm.
The yipping seemed to echo. It was difficult to tell how far into the 8’ to 10’ tall corn they went. Going in after them in 25 acres seemed pointless. I’ve visited corn mazes before and even with a trail and map it is easy to get lost. My throat was sore from yelling so I decided to run home and get the truck so I could honk the horn or do something else to get their attention so they would come back to me.
About half way home I stopped running to catch my breath and looked back to see if I could spot either of them. Oh… the joy to see both of them running at high speed toward me. What a relief, but also so beautiful. With their jowls flapping and legs moving faster than ever, they were returning to me. This moved me deep in my heart. I was so grateful they weren’t harmed. They knew where they needed to be and weren’t gone long! I’m sure they didn’t mean to get distracted. We usually don’t either, do we? I know they love me and like to please me; however, I wasn’t pleased when they didn’t come back when I called them. I bent down and greeted them both with open arms and hugged both of them. “Don’t do that again… that might have turned out very bad for you,” I scolded.
On the remainder of the walk home was when I really felt the Holy Spirit impress this upon my heart. “Child, I don’t put a leash on you or any of my other children either. I give freedom to choose what you chase after and pursue; but because I love you and you are mine, I give you boundaries to stay within for good. Don’t run ahead of me!” This coyote and the way it seemed to lure my dogs reminded me of how easy it is to let our guard down and get off the path if we aren’t staying consistently close to our Lord. The words in Galatians 5:24-25 crossed my mind - And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.
We’re God’s children and He loves and adores us and it hurts Him to watch us go outside the boundaries (truth) He’s called us to live within. The Bible, God’s love story, is where we need to look to learn and to be refreshed of these truths and promises. We can’t just love Him and do our own thing and expect to live the life He has for each of us. He captured my heart on this one. The cornfield and its vast area reminded me of this world - each individual stalk could be symbolic of anything that distracts us or holds us captive from God. Wow! When all this pieced together in my mind I was amazed that I didn’t miss this. His Spirit is constantly at work all around us and within us. He allowed me to see things through His eyes as He walked with me on that normal day in July. It was just Him and I, a couple of dogs, a coyote and a cornfield. What will He reveal to YOU today?! Perhaps He will bring a memory to mind! I would love to hear about it!
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