A couple nights ago Bella, our crazy puppy, decided she needed to go outside. I kept opening the door and letting her out because I kept thinking she REALLY needed to go to the bathroom. However, she kept getting distracted by everything she saw: a little bit of dust on the tiles in the back patio, the spider that for some reason thought she could outsmart the dog, the cars around, and of course the crickets. Those always get her!
I did this little exercise three times (open door, watch Bella get distracted, decide she really didn't "need" to go potty, call her in, close door, get settled on couch to watch a movie). By the fourth time I decided to be nice and let her play some. Maybe if she was able to get some more energy out she would finally go potty and come back in for the night. I opened the door and let her out. I watched her play with the crickets for a bit, she was chasing one cricket in the grass but staying where I could see her, so I turned around to make sure the door was closed. I turned back around and Bella was gone.
Usually when Bella gets distracted and decides to run chasing something (or someone) she also barks... A LOT. This time though, there was no barking; she didn't run away, she was completely focused trying to get the cricket. I called her name and she wouldn't answer. so I freaked. It was late, and I walked around trying to find her, calling her name. It felt like an eternity, I thought something happened to her. I checked the road thinking maybe she got hit by a car. Where was my dog?
After five minutes of trying to find her in the dark, she finally came from behind the neighbor's trees- she wasn't even far away!
At first I was upset, but when she came running and squatted down in front of me, like she does only when she knows she did something wrong, I couldn't be upset. With tears running down my cheeks, I grabbed my dog and held her close! I was so happy she was ok - even though half the time she drives me crazy!!
This reminded me of the story of the Prodigal Son, and it made me wonder how many times in my life I have left my Heavenly Father to quietly chase after crickets?! I know that if I stay with him, I'll have all the things I need ( food, water, treats, love, comfort etc!) I hear him calling, but somehow, those crickets seem so appealing I lose my way chasing them.
What crickets are you chasing?
It's wonderful to know that when I turn around and look for Him, He's there to hug me and bring me back home. He's always waiting for us to come back to Him - why not stop chasing silly insects and just stay in the comfort of our Father's arms?
