One of my art students came in Monday with a very swollen lip, and stitches inside and out. He'd been bitten by a dog, poor guy! And to make it worse, it was Valentine's Day and we had lovely smell-goody snacks which he couldn't eat! His dog bite reminded me of something that happened to us when our second son was about eight years old.
We lived in Ohio at that time, and our boys had a new friend that had recently moved into a home behind us. In Ohio, people don't fence yards, so all the back yards flowed together in one beautiful, rolling, green experience. Our kids and all the neighbor kids happily ran all over the place.
We were new in the neighborhood and I really wanted to meet our neighbors. More than that, I am a believer. I believe Jesus walked on this earth and purposefully died on that cross to pay the penalty for my sins. I have invited Him in to be the Lord of my life, and He's made all the difference. My life is filled with joy. I have a purpose in this life. I live without doubts, and I live without fear. So, my real purpose was to share the beauty of Jesus with my neighbors.
I decided to have tea and desserts at our house and invite the neighbors whom I hadn't yet met. I prepared fliers telling the date and all the details. Before I walked around our circle, I was talking to a friend on the phone and we were praying together. She prayed for my walk, for our neighbors, and for the safety of my family and children while I was gone.
Right before I picked up the phone, my son came up to me with a toy that belonged to his friend. I told him to run it over to their house and toss it on their deck, so off he went. While we were praying, he burst in through the back door crying and screaming. He had been bitten by our neighbor's dog! Mother-protection mode kicked in and I was all over him. My oldest son came in right behind him and said, 'Mom, Jane's here.' (changed her name) I snarled 'JANE WHO?' because I was thinking of nothing but caring for wounds and emotions. Looking up I saw my neighbor, whom of course I knew - the owner of the dog. By the way, this was not just a dog. It was a big male German Shepherd.
She helped me care for him and he'd gotten a pretty good bite. Not only that, he had a burn on his forearm. As we worked, she related what happened.
Our son had run up to their back deck and tossed the toy up there. Their dog saw him and shot through their screen door, tearing the screen wide open, to get at him. As he tried to get away from the dog's teeth, he whirled and burned his arm on their hot barbeque grill.
She said, 'Cindy, you don't understand. We lived in Singapore and had a ten foot cement wall around our yard. The dog was trained to kill and protect us. I was in the kitchen and saw the entire thing and ran out immediately. If I hadn't been there to stop him, your son could have been killed!'
Whew!
The dog went bye bye. Jane and I actually became friends. I did go around and meet all the neighbors (50 houses - oh, my goodness! Turned out to be a bigger job than I had planned!) Build some relationships and was able to lead a new friend to Christ. God answers prayers.
So it comes down to this. I don't believe that it was coincidence that we were praying for the safety of my family at the very moment my son was attacked. I believe that Satan tried to prevent me from talking to my neighbors about Jesus Christ by causing that dog to attack our son. And I believe that God protected him 1) in answer to our prayers, and 2) because He has a special plan for our son's life.
And I'm pretty sure He has special plans for your life as well.
We lived in Ohio at that time, and our boys had a new friend that had recently moved into a home behind us. In Ohio, people don't fence yards, so all the back yards flowed together in one beautiful, rolling, green experience. Our kids and all the neighbor kids happily ran all over the place.
We were new in the neighborhood and I really wanted to meet our neighbors. More than that, I am a believer. I believe Jesus walked on this earth and purposefully died on that cross to pay the penalty for my sins. I have invited Him in to be the Lord of my life, and He's made all the difference. My life is filled with joy. I have a purpose in this life. I live without doubts, and I live without fear. So, my real purpose was to share the beauty of Jesus with my neighbors.
I decided to have tea and desserts at our house and invite the neighbors whom I hadn't yet met. I prepared fliers telling the date and all the details. Before I walked around our circle, I was talking to a friend on the phone and we were praying together. She prayed for my walk, for our neighbors, and for the safety of my family and children while I was gone.
Right before I picked up the phone, my son came up to me with a toy that belonged to his friend. I told him to run it over to their house and toss it on their deck, so off he went. While we were praying, he burst in through the back door crying and screaming. He had been bitten by our neighbor's dog! Mother-protection mode kicked in and I was all over him. My oldest son came in right behind him and said, 'Mom, Jane's here.' (changed her name) I snarled 'JANE WHO?' because I was thinking of nothing but caring for wounds and emotions. Looking up I saw my neighbor, whom of course I knew - the owner of the dog. By the way, this was not just a dog. It was a big male German Shepherd.
She helped me care for him and he'd gotten a pretty good bite. Not only that, he had a burn on his forearm. As we worked, she related what happened.
Our son had run up to their back deck and tossed the toy up there. Their dog saw him and shot through their screen door, tearing the screen wide open, to get at him. As he tried to get away from the dog's teeth, he whirled and burned his arm on their hot barbeque grill.
She said, 'Cindy, you don't understand. We lived in Singapore and had a ten foot cement wall around our yard. The dog was trained to kill and protect us. I was in the kitchen and saw the entire thing and ran out immediately. If I hadn't been there to stop him, your son could have been killed!'
Whew!
The dog went bye bye. Jane and I actually became friends. I did go around and meet all the neighbors (50 houses - oh, my goodness! Turned out to be a bigger job than I had planned!) Build some relationships and was able to lead a new friend to Christ. God answers prayers.
So it comes down to this. I don't believe that it was coincidence that we were praying for the safety of my family at the very moment my son was attacked. I believe that Satan tried to prevent me from talking to my neighbors about Jesus Christ by causing that dog to attack our son. And I believe that God protected him 1) in answer to our prayers, and 2) because He has a special plan for our son's life.
And I'm pretty sure He has special plans for your life as well.
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