Reason #552
We are getting a tool shed in our backyard tomorrow. To save time, Aaron took down part of the fence tonight. When he finished, he headed to the office to play his video game. Scout usually follows him around, as he has now replaced me as her #1. I was in the kitchen whipping up a dessert I saw in a magazine and as I waited for the oven timer to go off, I began looking on Facebook. I walked back to the office to show Aaron a picture I found on Facebook, and I noticed Scout wasn't in his lap. I asked if he had her, and he said no. He thought she was with me. We both looked at each other with a panicked look in our eyes, turned around, and ran for the backyard. Scout is a ninja. She is so small and quiet that she can easily sneak up on you or sneak right past you. The backdoor was open so she went out of her dog door. I just knew that was going to happen, too. And in the 10 seconds it took for me to get from the office to the backyard, I began to prepare myself for the worst.
We ran stumbled out on the back porch and across the yard stood Scout. She was looking out into the alley, but she was still in the backyard. We both let out a huge sigh of relief and then took her back inside and shut the door. I don't even want to think about what could have happened had I not walked back to the office to show Aaron that Facebook picture. I don't even want to imagine where Scout might be tonight had we not gone outside when we did. In the smallest of ways, I understand why parents freak out when their kids get out of their sight. It's scary to think about losing something you love.
Had Scout ventured out of the backyard, I would have searched every inch of the neighborhood and even this city to find her. I wouldn't give up, either. Even if it took days, I'd keep searching. I wouldn't shrug my shoulders and say, "Oh well, her loss. If she's not smart enough to stay here or find her way back, then that's her problem." No way! I would make sure she got home safely. I'd pay a huge chunk of change for her return. I'd hang posters on every light post. Heck, I'd probably fork over the money to put an ad on the front page of the newspaper every week begging for someone to bring her home. I'd go the extreme to get her back here with us.
Yet as I think about the great lengths I'd go to in order to get my dog back home with me, I am reminded of how the Lord has done exactly that for me. Because I am girl who is prone to wander just like everyone else. I've been known to venture out a time or two, or at least entertain the idea. And the Lord knew this about me. He knew if I got away I wouldn't be able to make it back on my own, and so He made sure to go to great lengths to get me back. He paid a huge price for my return. He did whatever it took to make sure I could be with Him, and so He sent His Son. The very One who died my death, who tore the veil so that I, too, could get back home.
He is a God who searches for us. One who seeks us and pursues us. A God who doesn't just shrug when we wander off but will go to great lengths to get us back. The great Shepherd who will leave the flock to search out those who have wandered away and are lost. And I'm grateful for that. Grateful that He found me, made a way for me to get home, and that He doesn't ever give up on us when we wander far from home.
#552 - Because He has made a way for us to get home.
“If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them gets lost, what will he do? Won’t he leave the ninety-nine others in the wilderness and go to search for the one that is lost until he finds it? And when he has found it, he will joyfully carry it home on his shoulders." - Luke 15:4-5
We ran stumbled out on the back porch and across the yard stood Scout. She was looking out into the alley, but she was still in the backyard. We both let out a huge sigh of relief and then took her back inside and shut the door. I don't even want to think about what could have happened had I not walked back to the office to show Aaron that Facebook picture. I don't even want to imagine where Scout might be tonight had we not gone outside when we did. In the smallest of ways, I understand why parents freak out when their kids get out of their sight. It's scary to think about losing something you love.
Had Scout ventured out of the backyard, I would have searched every inch of the neighborhood and even this city to find her. I wouldn't give up, either. Even if it took days, I'd keep searching. I wouldn't shrug my shoulders and say, "Oh well, her loss. If she's not smart enough to stay here or find her way back, then that's her problem." No way! I would make sure she got home safely. I'd pay a huge chunk of change for her return. I'd hang posters on every light post. Heck, I'd probably fork over the money to put an ad on the front page of the newspaper every week begging for someone to bring her home. I'd go the extreme to get her back here with us.
Yet as I think about the great lengths I'd go to in order to get my dog back home with me, I am reminded of how the Lord has done exactly that for me. Because I am girl who is prone to wander just like everyone else. I've been known to venture out a time or two, or at least entertain the idea. And the Lord knew this about me. He knew if I got away I wouldn't be able to make it back on my own, and so He made sure to go to great lengths to get me back. He paid a huge price for my return. He did whatever it took to make sure I could be with Him, and so He sent His Son. The very One who died my death, who tore the veil so that I, too, could get back home.
He is a God who searches for us. One who seeks us and pursues us. A God who doesn't just shrug when we wander off but will go to great lengths to get us back. The great Shepherd who will leave the flock to search out those who have wandered away and are lost. And I'm grateful for that. Grateful that He found me, made a way for me to get home, and that He doesn't ever give up on us when we wander far from home.
#552 - Because He has made a way for us to get home.
“If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them gets lost, what will he do? Won’t he leave the ninety-nine others in the wilderness and go to search for the one that is lost until he finds it? And when he has found it, he will joyfully carry it home on his shoulders." - Luke 15:4-5
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