I know God does things for certain reasons and when Jake went missing I wasn't sure what his reason might be. My pets are one step down from being a child in my house and Jake is one of my best buddies. So the day he went missing I was in a panic and sad the weeks that followed. I asked people to pray and many replied to have hope that he just may turn up on your doorstep one day. I scoffed in my mind at those comments I mean seriously Jake would just come home without any help? In my mind I was saying "Yeah right!". In Church the sermon series was on prayer and one of the sermons they brought up the acronym PUSH(Pray Until Something Happens) so Eric, I and the kids prayed before bed that Jake would come home. The week he went missing the weather was very Spring like and we actually had bad storms and tornadoes and all I could think about was that Jake was out there a lone. We put up flyers, asked neighbors, talked to local vets and checked the pet shelters and nothing. No calls, no information, nothing. I was positive Jake would never be found and my heart was broken.
A week after Titus was born it was an overcast damp day. I had just come back inside from getting the mail when a few minutes later I heard scratching at the door. My first thought was that Bo or Taylor had followed me out and I hadn't noticed. I glanced out the window and there he was, it was Jake! He was skinny but clean and SO happy to see everyone. I was in disbelief and I cried. There is now a joke that surrounds my reaction to Jake coming home. I never cry at the important events in my life such as my on my wedding day or the birth of my children but I cried the day Jake came home. I am not sure why. I think it has a lot to do with what God was doing in my spiritual life in showing me how much unbelief I had hidden in my heart. Much like my experience after I miscarried. I had so much doubt in my grief. So much mistrust. I knew God could bring Jake back if he chose to but I didn't know if he would. Just like after I lost my baby I knew God could help me conceive and have a child again but didn't know if he would. I look back and can see how God used these events in my life. Both were painful but both have brought me closer in my walk with Christ.
And by the way I am not saying a lost dog is as big of a deal as losing a baby. For me though these two events have brought me closer to Christ in similar ways and I hope that message is conveyed.
Throughout the day I kept thinking this must be a little of what Christ feels when one of his children makes his way back to him after straying. I have a better understanding of the prodigal Son now. It always amazes me how God uses events in my life to make me understand him and his word better. Sometimes I have a hard head and it takes heartache to show me exactly what I am to learn. I praise God for the heartache for out it I am much more richer and closer to my Savior.
