Be Interrupted Today

This past week western Washington had crisp sunny winter days. No rain...we are known for our rain, but we really do have beautiful days like this week. The mountains are beautiful and the air feels fresh. Now that the leaves have fallen from most of the trees around our house we have what people call a peek-a-boo view of the water-which in reality means that we can barely see it from our window...but it is very pretty.

I did not work on Monday and was blessed with one of these beautiful winter days. The kids were thrilled to have me home and loved reading to me and sharing all they were learning that day in school. In the afternoon, when all the school work was done, I decided to take a walk around our neighborhood. I just needed a few minutes to refocus and spend some time with the Lord. I set out with my headphones in my ears listening to Kim Walker singing How He Loves Us. Love. This. Song.

My plan when I got home from my walk was to make dinner and start checking things off my to do list that I had written early but didn't seem to get to while working with the kids. I had big plans all day to "accomplish" great things! But my plans didn't go the way I thought. My walk was going to bridge the way to get me to "refocus".

I had only walked a few minutes when I passed a small dog on the sidewalk. I bent down to give it a quick pet and started back on my way with my fast pace. But I stopped. I heard this whisper saying that I had to turn around. That this dog wasn't where it was suppose to be. That I needed to help it. And I suddenly saw the dog not as a dog but a representation of something else. God's Plan...I saw this dog and pictured it as an orphan standing on the road just wishing someone would reach out and help it. I didn't want to stop. This was my time. I had an agenda. I had things to do when I was done. I had things to check off my list. I had dinner to make. I had a family to take care of. I didn't have time to be interrupted.

But the whisper to turn back was one I could not ignore. In our neighborhood there are many dogs, but every house has a fenced yard and unless someone is taking their dog for a walk on leash, dogs are not out of their yards. I turned around and knelt low to the ground calling the dog over to me. It was reluctant at first but soon timidly came to me. In fact the dog was shaking and scared. The dog had a collar but no tags. It was small enough that I could pick it up. I decided to knock on a few doors to see if they knew where it belonged. No one had seen it before. One resident told me she knew that within a range of homes that she pointed out that she knew that dog did not live in the area.

I did not want a dog.
I did not want to interrupt my night.
I wanted to just keep walking.

But that whisper said otherwise.

I carried the dog back up the hill to my house.

When I came in with the dog the kids were surprised. I told them the story and let them know I was taking it to the vet to see if it had a chip in it. We all got in the van and headed to the vet. No chip. Now what. I was suppose to start my dinner a while ago. Nothing was checked off my list.

We came home and created a lost dog flyer. We grabbed some tacks, the leash, the dog, and our coats...it was cold out by this time and starting to get dark.

We hung up the signs on the mailbox stations. We turned down one cul-de-sac, hung the sign, walked to the end, knocked on a door to see if it lived there but they had never seen it and started to walk back. We were half way back down and heard someone yelling "Paco". We turned around and saw that there was a lady on her porch. She had seen us and was calling for her dog. I called back and asked her if this was her dog. It took us a minute to get to her porch.

It was her dog. I told her what we had done. I mean...we had saved it...drove it to the vet...made signs and were walking it around the neighborhood knocking on doors...we had done a lot. She scooped him up, turned around, barely said a word, and started back in to her house. She said thank you as she shut her door. Madie looked at me and said she sure wasn't very appreciative. I was surprised that she was not more excited about someone taking the time to find the home for her dog. But at that moment the Lord reminded me that we do not do the right thing just to get rewarded or thanked. We do the right thing because it is the right thing. No other reason.

I learned that my time is not my own. My agenda gets to be interrupted. I do the right thing because that is what God calls me to do. There are many who need us to turn around and lend a hand, an ear, our hearts...and we must be ready to allow God to shift our agenda to fit his. We are not here on this earth to take care of ourselves only, but to love and care for God's people.

Dinner got made eventually. A few things got checked off my list. I spent time with my family while finding the dog's home...in fact we talked more and learned more in that few hours of time then we may have if it hadn't happened.

Let God interrupt your day. Maybe it is spending time with a friend. Calling someone. Stopping and praying with that person on the street. Listening to your kids tell you the whole story. Returning that email. Making dinner for someone. Showing up for the even that means so much to them. Stop and turn around and hear the whisper of His voice. What does He want you to do today?

Blessings,
Teresa