“Honey, did you forget to write your column?” She uses the tone of voice that brings me back to earth from my revere. I had been sitting here staring at the blinking reminder that I wasn’t doing what I knew I had to do. Under most circumstances, I don’t take kindly to have been awakened, but she is such a sweet soul that even if I tense up a little when it comes time to sit down facing the huge blinking curser, I know she is right.
There have been times when she had come into the computer room and I had leaned back against the pillow I have in my chair and closed my eyes for just a minute. “The computer doesn’t know what you want to say if you keep trying to sneak a quick nap.” As usual, she is absolutely right.
“Why don’t you finish the column you started to write about last week? Or was that two weeks ago?” Wow! Talk about a muse. So I had “sort of” told you about more proof that God answers prayers but ran out of paper. I had started to tell you about her insisting that I go with her around the block to mention to the owners of the barking dogs that keep us awake.
Perhaps they didn’t realize what was happening. You know, kind of like a crying baby in a supermarket. Everyone hears the tiny cries but the parents. We just wanted to explain that the barking dogs were keeping us awake. Actually, I didn’t want to go because I am an anti-confrontationist. However, I thought I would go with her as I should.
So, she waited for me at the corner, and despite my staring at the ground and mumbling, she stood there waiting. I kept asking her what could be so important that she pulled me away from working on my truck. She just turned her back on me and kept walking, repeating that she had something cool to show me.
As we approached a smaller fenced-in area in the yard, I raised my head from the ground and saw a small group and heard the plaintive cry of a tiny baby. In fact, as I got closer I saw that there were seven instruments being played by the seven of the cutest puppies I think I have ever seen. At first I was confused. Or, as my kids say, “You are always confused, pop.”
I nodded to my neighbor and walked up to the fence. Looking back at Lorraine my mind was racing. If you read any of my scribbles you know that My Lovely Bride and I had just lost our last dog to some strange malady and that we had spoke to each other a couple of times about getting another dog.
You know, dogs are one of the most wonderful things that God has given us. They are loyal and loving and only want you, as the owner, to feel happy. As I looked down at these seven puppies my heart started to fill with joy. Although we had not made up our minds, we pretty much knew that eventually we would be getting another dog. So we had decided that a dog would make our home a more pleasant place to be.
We knew that puppies need a lot of attention, but that the joy they bring is more given back to the owners. Lorraine and I looked at each other wondering who was going to give in first. Lorraine looked over at me with glistening eyes and I sort of looked away.
“Honey,” I mused, “are we ready for another dog? Besides, have you asked about us buying two puppies? Maybe they don’t want to sell two at a time.”
Lorraine looked to the owner and said, “We have recently lost our dogs and that was why we came round the corner and we weren’t even contemplating getting pups this quick.” The owner said, “Well, there had to be some reason for you to come around the corner and this being the first time we have even had them out of the house.”
Lorraine and I looked at the puppy owner and asked if he believed in divine intervention. “Of course,” he replied. “You were led around that corner on this day for a reason. There are seven pups and you can have your choice.” I was immediately taken to a black-and-white male that had a mask on like the Lone Ranger, and Lorraine chose a grey puppy with the bluest eyes I have ever seen on a dog.
Adopting a dog is not something that should ever be taken lightly. They have to be cared for just like a baby until they can be trained to do the right things and not to do the things that do not make you happy. As I looked down upon these puppies, I felt a warmth come over me, and although I won’t say it was a divine touch, I can tell you that both Lorraine and I shared in that warmth.
As I said, we had been talking about another dog but nothing had been finalized. Shoot, we had not even considered about what type of dog we might want. On that day, looking down at those precious puppies, it occurred to BOTH of us that this was not a happenstance thing that had happened. The owner of the pups watched us closely, but he said later that he was sure we were the right couple for his pups. I took that as a compliment, and told him we would take the two we had picked out.
I think these puppies were born as Dirt crossed over the “Rainbow Bridge” to his new home, and God, seeing our need, sent Lorraine around the corner where we were to see our new family. Stay tuned for the new adventures of Ranger and Skye. They will be arriving sometime in September.
God Bless.
