Don't know if I've mentioned it on here or not, but we have a couple of dogs. A brother and a sister. Abby and Hunter. We tell people that they are part black lab and part Rottweiler. The veterinarian claims that they have a few more breeds than those two in them, but Abby and Hunter seem content with those two, so we don't tell them anything else. They are almost four years old, are not allowed in the house, but are considered part of the family none-the-less. Since they have been together since birth....except for the one night Hunter had to spend at the veterinarian with a badly cut paw....they are extremely close dogs.
I walk with them and jog with them regularly. They enjoy it, it's good exercise for all of us, and a wonderful time of prayer and meditation for me. It certainly works out for everyone involved.
One of my favorite places to walk with them is along the Kettle River. Since I grew up on that river, it has a special place in my heart. The view along the road/trail we walk on is fantastic, we don't meet many people, the dogs run freely, and it's one of my most treasured places to pray and meditate.
Occasionally, especially during a walk on a particularly beautiful day, my mind drifts to what life will be like in eternity. I am nowhere close to being an expert on the matter but, as I understand it, we believers will rule with Christ in a new heaven and new earth. Obviously, I have no idea what that will be like, and I am not sure how it will look or work out in practice. But I do imagine that river being a part of the new creation. I picture that same rough road running along it's edge. I admit to my Lord that I have no idea how responsibility will be divided when he returns to reign, but I make it clear that I would be perfectly content managing that section of the Kettle River. Perhaps I deserve less. I doubt I deserve more. But I have put in my request, and would be satisfied walking that road with my Savior in eternity. It would be nice if the dogs could walk it with us, but I am in no position to insist upon it.
Over the years I have had many dogs, and the Holy Spirit has used them all to teach me lessons. Abby and Hunter taught me one last week.
When I jog with the dogs, it's always along the same path. Down the road from our house, take a left to the railroad tracks, and then follow the tracks home. When we jog, I let them run freely when possible but I leave their leashes on in case we meet a car. I then grab the leash's until the car passes, and then they run freely again. Usually, when we get to the end of the railroad tracks the dogs are close by and will catch up to me when I call.
During this particular run, I got to the end of the tracks and called for them, but the dogs did not come. I waited awhile thinking that they would eventually show up, but they didn't. I got my car, drove around our jogging area calling for them, went back to the end of the tracks and called some more....but no sign of my dogs. I was getting concerned, especially since neither of them were showing up. I began walking back up the tracks, becoming increasingly concerned that something bad had happened, calling and scanning the woods for any sign of my puppies. I was determined not to go home without them.
About a mile up the tracks, when I yelled I thought I heard a whine in the distance. I knew it was the dogs, but I had no idea how I would find them in the thick woods. I called again and heard the same whine, this time closer. I kept walking up the tracks, trying to figure out the general area the noise was coming from when Abby came running from the woods toward me. Obviously, I was relieved that she was alright, but was still concerned with what might be going on with Hunter. We walked further down the tracks until Abby ran back into the woods. I followed. In the end, Abby led me right to Hunter. His leash was tangled in some brush, and he was not able to free himself. With a little effort I was able to untangle him, and the dogs and I walked home down the tracks.
I know what you're thinking. Great story, Jim. And you tell it so well.
I did take a couple of lessons from it.
First, I was a man of limited capabilities looking for a couple of worthless dogs. I did it because they were my responsibility. They were my dogs, and I was their master. It reminded me of Christ's words in Matthew 18:12: "What do you think? If any man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go and search for the one that is straying? Or his words in John 10:28 " I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand."
I am bright enough to understand that these scriptures are talking about sheep, and I'm writing about dogs, but the truth is the same. If I, being flawed, will go to whatever lengths necessary to get my dogs home....What lengths will the Savior go to in order to get his sheep home? What lengths will he go to that he might bring me home?
We all have gone astray. We all have wandered off the tracks. We all have been lost. All of us like sheep have gone astray, Each of us has turned to his own way; But the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all To fall on Him. (Isaiah 53:6)
I will be led home, perhaps to manage my two mile stretch of the Kettle River, not because I have always been faithful, but because my Master has always been faithful to me. Not because I haven't been lost, but because the Shepherd has always found me. Not because I haven't ever been tangled in some brush somewhere off the tracks, but because the Savior refuses to leave me there.
I was also impressed with Abby. She's hyper and can be a tad annoying. But she refused to leave her brother when he was stuck in the woods. She could have left him, caught up to me and been safely in her warm kennel eating dog biscuits. She wouldn't do that. She stayed with him until I showed up, and led me to her trapped brother. In a world where, as the saying goes, "Christians tend to shoot their wounded," it was wonderful to see a dog stick with a stranded brother until he could be set free and led home.
Ah, gotta love the dogs.
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