Sunday, May 23, 2010

A happy (true) story

Two weeks ago, we noticed our Hindu neighbors out in the street, looking very worried. "Have you seen our dog?", they called out. "She got out, never does this. We can't find her anywhere!" We joined the search, with other friends, looked high and low--no little dog. A storm was coming, the forecast said, with high winds, rain and large hail. So, we kept on looking. Soon, Sumita and her husband decided to drive around other neighborhoods to see if they could find Shemi.

Not long after, good news. They found their dog. We were all so relieved. What had happened was this: a woman saw her in the middle of a busy thoroughfare, picked her up and took her to her house some distance away. Just as our neighbors were driving down that street, this woman happened to be standing in her front yard. She called, "Are you looking for a dog?" "Yes, oh yes!" our neighbors replied.

The next morning, Sumita came by with her dog. She thanked us again for helping to look. I felt led by God to say: "I don't know how my husband was praying about this, but I absolutely knew Shemi could not be out of God's presence." The look I got.

Some months earlier, Sumita had said, "You are Christian, aren't you? I know Jesus is your guy; he isn't mine." But she said this kindly.

Am I saying that it was our praying that saved the day? This I couldn't say. It probably helped; I like to think it did. With no collar on the dog, no identification chip, this was not to me mere coincidence. Our Hindu neighbors could not believe the timing of all this. They were amazed. But those of us who know out of God's presence we cannot go--are not.