One
cold January day, a cute little dog arrived at their house. He looked like he was freezing and probably lost. Or maybe even dumped.
The little boys of
the house tried to persuade their mom and dad to let the little dog come in
that night. The parents, though, thought the dog belonged to someone, so they
said no. However, they put a box with some blankets in it out on the porch for
the dog. But there was something about him…
The
mom got up in the night to check on him, and when she looked outside, the furry
little dog was sitting on the deck, facing out towards the back yard, so he
didn’t see her. He was staring out into the distance like he was waiting for
something… or someone.
The
next day, the mom and dad couldn't stand it anymore and let the little dog come into the house. And he acted
like he belonged there with them.
Dad
took the dog to the vet in town to see if he recognized him at all and to find
out how old he might be. The vet said he had never seen him before, and he
guessed his age to be about two years old.
After a couple of days, the dad and a couple of the kids went for a walk with the dog, hoping
to find his owner, if he had one. The dog went up to someone’s porch, so the
family figured he had found his home. When they kept walking, and the dog
stayed behind, it seemed like it was a done deal.
So while she was driving home down Pryor Mountain, the mom prayed and asked God to let the little
dog find his way back to them if he still didn’t have a home.
She
had no idea the dad felt like he needed to go look for the dog, too. He and one
of the boys drove around the neighborhood looking for him, but they didn’t see
him anywhere. Right after the mom prayed for the dog, a lady
rang the doorbell at the house. When the dad answered, she asked if they had
been looking for a little homeless dog because one had been sitting on her
neighbor’s porch. They were worried about the furry dog, too, because the
family was going out of town.
Dad
and son jumped in the car and drove to where the little dog was. When they got
out of the car, the dog ran to greet them, jumping into the son’s arms.
And
they went home.
When
Mom came home a few minutes later, she didn’t notice the little dog at first.
She was more concerned with one of the other dogs being on the sofa. When one
of her sons walked over to her holding the furry little dog, she started to cry
and said, “I was just praying for him! I was just praying about this. I guess
God even cares about little dogs.” And she picked him up and hugged him.
That little dog stayed with the family, even moving with them from Arkansas to Texas. He thinks he's in charge, just as his dog sisters do, too.
When
you are tempted to think that you don’t matter, I hope you’ll remember the
story of God showing He cares even about everyone, even little furry dogs.
