Dogs and Angels

I have decided to try and post every day in July.  Sometimes I do these sort of things to discipline myself when I think I am getting lazy.  And I think now is one of those times.  I’ve done this once before and succeeded in posting for 50 days straight.  So here I go again, hopefully for 31. 

The other night as I was taking my dog on his semi-regular nightly walk, he stopped on the path and stood still.  He didn’t seem to be smelling out some tasty critter or to be looking ahead as if he had seen a deer.  He just stopped; immovable.  Now, if you’ve ever walked a 136 pound dog who loves to sniff, and pull, and GO, you know that this is unusual.  And since I had recently been reading about Balaam and his talking donkey in the Bible (Numbers 22:21-35), I immediately assumed my dog was probably seeing an angel.  When Balaam’s donkey saw an angel (three times), he either stopped in his tracks or cowered in fear and Balaam (not knowing about the angel) beat the poor beast (three times).  And after the last beating, the donkey talked to Balaam, asking him why he was doing the beating.  Balaam casually answers—did he not think it weird that his donkey spoke?—that the donkey made him look like a fool, with all of it’s stopping and starting.  It was then that God opened Balaam’s eyes and he was able to see the angel in his path.

Now here is where my story differs:

1)  Neo only stopped once.  And he soon started walking again.

2) I did not beat my canine, nor was I tempted to since no one was watching and since I did not feel foolish.  And because I am not an animal beater.

3) Neo never spoke with me, and if he had, I would have been surprised.  very surprised.

4) Either I was wrong and Neo did not see an angel, and he was merely taking an uncharacteristic rest break, or…

5) maybe God did not want me to know that there was an angel in the path and so he only revealed it to my dog.  because maybe I would have been more freaked out about seeing an angel than having my dog talk to me.

So, what’s the take-away lesson in this story?  I’m not really sure, but it makes me think that God is probably constantly at work around me and it’s only when I am really in tune with Him that I can see this “working” happening. And maybe sometimes, He can’t reveal things to me yet because I am not ready to receive them with faith. Most of the time, though, I think I blithely walk through my day distracted by the “squirrels” and “deer” that catch my eye.  And, even though I am kind of kidding about my dog seeing an angelic being, I wonder if I would see more if I remembered to “look”, instead of being so caught up inside my own head.  This week, I am going to try to have my eyes open wide to see where God is working. Then, maybe, I will try to join Him in His work. 

And I hope He doesn’t have to make Neo talk so that I will listen.