The person who started Memorial Box Monday would probably be so frustrated with me because I almost NEVER post on a Monday. I have to post as it happens otherwise I will forget. I'm forgetful that way...and the whole POINT of a Memorial Box, is to REMEMBER. ha. I blame it all on menopause. I forget stuff. Important stuff. It isn't pretty.
Moving on to the point of this post....
The last year or so, the teenager has been testing the waters of personal freedom. They all do. It's not like I didn't know it was coming. I have been attempting--unsuccessfully--to explain that we will give him freedom in increments. If he handles it well, he'll get a little more.
It is all completely lost on him.
He thinks we are too strict.
I understand. I really do. Surprisingly, I actually remember what being a teenager was like.
Rather vividly.
So lately, I have been praying that God will explain this to my teenager in a way that he will understand. That some rain would fall to soften his heart.
That's kind of a scary prayer because as we all know, rain falls on the just and the unjust--and I prefer sun. So I wondered if I should start avoiding him so that the rain didn't fall on me as well as the teenager. Ha.
I'm getting off-point.
Tonight at dinner, the teenager suddenly said, "Has anyone seen the dog?" Well, come to think of it....no. Not for a few hours.
The dog belongs to the teenager. We got her several years ago when we moved to Michigan and he was having a hard time with the move. She has always been his baby and he has done a pretty good job of taking care of her. She sleeps with him every night...you get the picture.
We looked high and low. It soon became obvious that she wasn't in the house. We went outside calling her name and rattling her treat can.
At that point, I became alarmed because when she does escape, she usually comes back within 20 minutes or so. She had been gone for hours and I knew that something was wrong.
We finally decided to get in the car and look...me praying that we would not find her dead on a road somewhere. I remembered my prayer, though, and wondered if God was answering in a way I didn't expect.
As we were driving around the neighborhood, I saw a woman in her driveway. I knew her from the bus stop, so I stopped and asked her if she had seen Ginger. Now, I have been past her house countless times and I have never seen her outside in her driveway. Ever. She was just standing there, near the street. As I got out, a car pulled up and it was obvious that my neighbor was going somewhere with a friend. As she left, she suggested that I call Animal Control. And then she said, "But their number isn't listed. You have to call the police dept. and have them connect you."
I would not have thought to call the police department about a lost dog.
And Ginger's tag had broken off and we hadn't gotten it replaced yet, so she had no ID.
If I had been driving by 30 seconds later, I would have missed my neighbor.
So...just to recap for you...I am driving by my neighbor's house. She just 'happen's' to be standing in her driveway. It 'happens' to be 30 seconds before her ride comes to pick her up, meaning we would have missed her if we had driven by 1 min. later. And, she tells us to do something I would never have thought of. Hmmmm....God at work? Um...yeah.
As we continued home, I mentioned to the teenager that Ginger could not handle the freedom that she so desired. She 'thought' she would have more fun outside our boundaries, but she was just putting herself in danger. She thought we were too strict but we were just trying to keep her safe. He got the picture.
When we got home, I called and left a msg. with animal control. About 9PM the phone rang. "This is animal control and I think I have your dog."
Ahhhhhh!!! Hooray!!!! Thank you, Jesus!!!!
Yep--it was Ginger--and boy, was she glad to see us. I hope she learned her lesson (doubtful). But more than that, I hope the teenager learned one, too. God loves him so much and I know He will continue to pursue him and draw him into a relationship with Him.
So, Mom's, pray a lot for your kids and rest assured...God's got your back.
