In All thy Ways Acknowledge Him

The Big White Dog

 As I turned the last corner toward the long stretch before I arrive home. My mind turned to the big white dog. When I left the house this morning, he wanted to follow the car.  I slowed to a stop on the hill. He stopped and watched. As I inched forward he came forward.  As I stopped he stopped.  He has been running after the truck as we snowplowed the road, up and down the road, up and down the road. He seems to have endless energy.
didn't want to get out of the car onto the snowy slick drive in my nice shoes. My level of frustration seems to be higher these days. Maybe more easily exasperated. I usually will try to figure out something on my own before asking for help, but recently I just ask for help; even for the most simple things.
" Heavenly Father, I don't know what to do with this dog. I don't know how to train him. I don't even know if he is trainable. Please tell him he needs to go chasing after a deer, or distract him, or something, so he won't follow me."
 I had hardly finished thinking the thought and he headed up a deer trail to my left. I watched him gallop up over the rise before I dared drive away. What a truly beautiful animal. As I started to inch forward I kept my eye on the rearview mirror to make sure he didn't show up again following me down the road. By the time I decided he wasn't following me. I had almost forgotten that prayer. Forgotten the miracle that had just happened. I, like the guy who fell off the cliff and prayed that God would save him. Then when a branch caught him said, "Oh never mind God. The branch caught me." I needed to stop myself and remember that my prayer had just been answered, directly and immediately.

Just last week I was contemplating the miracle of this dog. He is a wander by nature. The type of dog that would  travel every morning to check on the cattle herds, before coming home for breakfast and to sit in the corral with the cattle near the house. He isn't  trained. He has no herds to watch over, and hunting season is always a problem because the dogs want to go out and find any "treats"  left behind by hunters.  Several weeks earlier my frustration had peaked when for the 4th time in one week he had disappeared. I drove all over around past the nearby homes looking to see when he might have gone this time. Three times already neighbors had called me letting me know that they had my dog. As I drove around finding him nowhere, I prayed.
"Dear Father in Heaven, I don't know what to do with this dog. You know I didn't ask for him. John got him even though I didn't think it was a good idea.  Father, you know I have Christmas coming up and a wedding reception and I will have a house full of people. I am not going to have time to train him. Could you please tell him for me that he just  needs to stay closer to the house."
When I got home he was still nowhere around, but he showed up for dinner. It was that night that my first guest of the Christmas season arrived and I was so busy that I really hadn't contemplated the matter again until after everyone had left and things had calmed down. From that time until now he hasn't bothered any of the neighbors. He still takes off, but he must not go too far and up to this point he has always been back for dinner.

"And to every beast of the earth, and to every foul of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, behold we will give them life….and behold, they shall be obedient."  Abraham 4:30,31