Have you all seen the CBS video of the woman from Moore,Oklahoma who survived the absolute leveling of her house, but whose dog was somewhere in the rubble? If you haven't check it out:
What an amazing thing! I know that so many people were lost in the storm and, well, it's just a dog. But still... As a dog owner it brought tears to my eyes to see someone who thought she had lost her only companion and discovered, live on camera, that her dog was okay. This dog has a purpose in God's creation, and I believe it is to bring comfort to this woman who had just lost everything.
This is a just a glimpse, a shimmer, of the surprises that await us who choose to follow Jesus. Just when everything is at its worst, the Father comes along beside us. He doesn't take away the pain (yet), but he does give us what we need to endure it. And then one day, when things are at their darkest, when we face the ultimate enemy death, a wonderful treat is in store. Eternity in his presence, in our restored creation where the rubble of this decaying world is made new.
Finding her dog brought this woman a glimmer of light in the darkness of destruction. How much more grand it will be when we see the true Light.
I have such a smart dog. Yeah, everybody says that...but Elphie really is.
It amazes me that she remembers things she hasn't seen for months; I don't expect that from an animal. When we go to the condo in Tuscaloosa and get off the elevator on the third floor, she knows exactly what door to go to, no matter how long it's been since her last visit.
The elevator. That is the most curious thing to me. You see, when we get on the elevator, she turns and faces the door...and waits. And waits. And when we get to the 3rd floor, she gets off and heads for the door. Then when it's time to go for a walk (something very important with a dog!) we go back to the same elevator. We get in, and she patiently waits for the door to open so we can go outside for her walk.
The thing is, I'm convinced that she knows exactly what will happen when the door opens. She knows that it closes in one place and opens in another. It's gotta be like magic to her. She can't possibly understand the physics, that we are actually going up and down. All she knows is that she gets in, and, voila!, we are in a different place! She doesn't know how. Or why. She just knows it happens.
I think Elphie's understanding of the elevator is similar to the way i muddle through God's creation. His understanding of his universe is so much higher than mine. So many things are true that I don't understand. (For a nice list, read Job 38-39.) But I know that they are. I know that if I trust the revelation God has provided, I can live the life he intended for me. I don't know how it works. I don't know why. But I know it's true.
So I'll wake up tomorrow, and I'll get on God's elevator. Can't wait to see where the door opens.
Last night was one of the longest nights I've been through in a long time. A long time.
I go up yesterday morning to go to work, as I often have to do on the second Saturday in January. One of my duties as an actuary is to estimate our company's need for loss reserves, and this has to be done in a very narrow time window before year end financial statements are prepared. It makes for long hours this time of year. So, I headed to work, planning to get it all done in time to see the playoff game at 3:30.
I left my dog Elphie in the back yard, figuring she would enjoy running around and playing back there for the few hours I was gone. Although she stays inside with me most of the time and sleeps inside, I do this alot, and it's not a problem.
But this time it was. Somehow, Elphie found a weakness in my fence. And she wiggled her way through it, and then she was gone.
I got home about 3:30 and immediately knew something was wrong. I saw the hole she had pushed through the fence. I called her name, but there was no answer. I called...and called...and called.
The next few hours are a blur now, but suffice it to say I was distraught. Between then and bedtime, I spent hours riding around looking to see if she was in someone's yard, as did my dad. I walked up and down streets calling her name, as did both my dad and my sister. I called my vet and went to the Emergency Animal Clinic. I called the Humane Shelter. Nothing. I put lot posters up all around the neighborhood. I was desperate. Elphie is, of course, the best dog in the world. I love her so much, and she was gone. All because she had wanted a little freedom and a little adventure.
As I went to bed last night, my heart hurt. Let me correct myself - as I went to sleep. you see, I couldn't bring myself to sleep in my bedroom, because to do so I would have to look at Elphie's empty bed beside mine. And I was trying to everything I could to avoid thinking about her possibly being hungry, and out in the cold all night. It was almost unbearable.
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Then Jesus told them this parable:"Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Does he not leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent."(Luke 15:4-7)
As I lay on my couch last night, hurting and desperate to find Elphie, I thought about my heavenly Father. Like my dog, I have wandered off from his protective care. I haven't realized how good I had it, with Someone to love me, feed me, nurture me, and do what's best for me even when I don't understand it. I don't understand how good I have have it in his back yard and in his presence. I want to get away and chase my squirrels. I want to do things my way. I want freedom. And when I force my way out of his care, I get lost. So lost.
But what I truly understood last night, what I felt more clearly than I ever have, is how much it hurts our Father when we are lost. How he desperately calls out name over and over, pleading with us to come back into his fold. Yes, Jesus loves me. But loving me to the point of hurting - just words until I felt it for myself. Oh how it must hurt him!
This morning, one of those posters paid off. I got a call as I was getting out of church, and hen it was a number I didn't recognize, my heart leapt. It was from a man two blocks over, and he had found Elphie. She was ok. He had taken her to the Human Shelter (apparently my phone description of her wasn't very good), and she had slept in a warm place all night. I was thrilled.
So, I think I'll go pick her up in a little while....what?! No! Are you kidding me?? I rushed out of that church and drove immediately to the Shelter, and got her the heck out of there as quickly as I could. Because I love her and I wanted her to be with me. Where she would be taken care of.
Do you think our Father loves us any less? I am an imperfect human, and my dog is, well, a dog. God is infinite, full of love, mercy, and grace. He is so anxious for us to be back where we belong, we cannot even comprehend it. Wow!
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As Elphie sits at my feet and I type this, I am filled with joy. May I experience the same joy by sitting at the feet of Jesus, and remembering how much I mess things up when I stray.
