by rdsmith3 » Tue Jun 02, 2009 8:53 am First, like everyone else, I am concerned about my job at a large corporation. A couple of things have happened, and God has given me some reassurance, including a grant of restricted stock from my employer. That's not to say we still do not have a series of financial hits (like most people). The dryer just went today, the dog needs surgery, and so on. However, it is wonderful that God continues to provide.
Which brings me to the second point. We have had a dog for almost as long as our marriage (six years). We got a purebred Boxer puppy because that breed is supposed to be great with children, and they have little hair (unlike, say, a Golden Retriever). Neither my wife nor I had much experience with dogs, and we are not what you would call animal lovers, but this has been a great experience. I was laid off at about the time we got the dog, so I house-trained her and walked her every day. We bonded. My wife does not like the dog (it was her idea) because she is allergic to them, and the dog smells and drools. I have always told her that this dog will absolutely protect the family (protection is important to her).
The dog reacted very well when our little guy came along. Somehow she knew that the little pest who pulled her fur, yanked her ears, and hit her meant no harm and was part of the pack. This picture is about two years old -- he is yanking the collar with his one hand and maybe pulling the ear with the other.
I have always thought that this 84 lb, muscular female with the big dog bark would protect the family, even though she is more likely to lick you than to harm you (don't tell the bad guys that). Here she is watching out for us
Anyway, time to get to the point of the story of God's sovereign protection of us. Last Friday my wife and I grabbed a quick dinner and picked up a few things at Wal-Mart. We left the now-three-year-old at home with our 15 year old. We told them to play outside in the back. He is a smart kid, but sometimes does not always have great common sense. We live near a major highway, but our property has woods in the back. we live on a double cul-de-sac so there is very little traffic. A man just happens to walk out of the woods, but the barking dog keeps her off of our property, and he walks down the border with the neighbor's house, and down their driveway. Our dog barked at him the whole distance he was walking by our property. He said "just cutting through" to the 15 yo, but it did not occur to him that it was highly unusual for a man to walk out of the woods. A short while later, a law enforcement officer walks out of the woods and says "Hi" to our boys. Yes, they were still outside, unfortunately, and our older son did not connect the two events.
Apparently what happened is that a criminal was driving up the ramp to the highway when he stopped his car. He jumped out of the car and ran into the woods. A passerby thought it was unusual behavior and called the police. They checked the car and found warrants against him, so the search began. The state police and officers from at least two townships were after him, including using a helicopter, so I infer that the warrants were for serious crimes, not traffic tickets. He ran through the woods, across a sports field, and then through some more woods until he emerged near our house. He also would have been going up a steep hill during this get-away.
So praise God that He used the dog to protect the kids.
Now as it turns out, the dog has a tumor on her shoulder, and is scheduled for surgery on Thursday. My wife and I just had a conversation about how much we can spend on this, depending on the outcome. It is only a dog, and with our financial situation, there has to be a limit. But this incident enabled my wife to understand that, even though she does not like the dog, she does protect the family, which is important to her.
