Look To the Animals

It was her job when she was in middle school.
She was quite good at it.
Two families knew who to call whenever they went away.
She was their official pet sitter.

This daughter is now the mother of my granddaughter.
However, back then, she baby sat and pet sat for a few families.
The house next door to us hired her often.
They had adult children to visit; they knew their dog and two cats were in good hands.

I remember the day one of the cats ran away.
They let their cats be outside for a portion of the day.
They knew that come dinnertime, the cats would come home.
There was a day when one of the cats did not come back.

My daughter was so upset.
I’m responsible, Mom, she said with the saddest look on her face.
I can still see her sitting at the end of their driveway, vowing not to move until the cat returned.
You cannot sit here all night, I said gently, Bugsy knows how to come home.

Bugsy did come home, two days later.
He showed up at the door ready to be fed.
There was such relief in my daughter’s face.
The animals were safe and under her care again.

Then, there was the time when this same daughter called from the neighbor’s house.
It was the same neighbor with the dog and two cats.
I answered the phone and heard her frantic voice.
Mom, there is a squirrel in the house!

I ran next door as fast as I could.
I walked right inside.
I saw my daughter standing there in disbelief.
I looked and saw a squirrel scurrying all over the family room.

It climbed up the stone fireplace and across the mantle.
It went across the back of the leather sofa and love seat.
It slid across the coffee table.
It went up on a few windowsills.

My daughter looked frightened.
There was no stopping the squirrel who clearly wanted to get out of the house.
There was a sliding door in the family room.
I went over and opened it.

I pulled my daughter close and we stood and waited.
It was as if the fresh air called to the squirrel.
The squirrel’s nose went up in the air; he sniffed to find the source of the fresh air.
As quick as the squirrel scurried around the family room, it went out the sliding door.

I ran over and closed the door as tight as I could.
How did the squirrel get in here, Mom? My daughter asked.
I looked at the fireplace and thought that perhaps the flue was open.
I went over and reached up to pull the lever, which closed the flue with a bang.

We both sat down and took a deep breath.
We will laugh about this, someday, I told her.
We have laughed, though not that day.
That day we were on high alert.

My youngest daughter baby sat and pet sat for neighbors as well.
She loved all the animals in her care.
One winter day, when it was already dark, I went across the street with her.
She did all the work; I was just there to make sure some lights were on in the house.

She always checked upstairs to make sure there were no accidents on the rug.
Mom, can you come up here? I heard her call to me.
I saw her standing in one of the bedrooms.
There was a purse on the floor with things strewn about and pieces of tissues everywhere.

Everything else in the house was fine.
This was the only thing that was out of place.
The little dog looked quite guilty.
We just could not figure out what he might have done.

My daughter wrote a note and left it on the kitchen island.
She explained the scene as she found it.
She told them that she put everything back as best she could.
She just wanted them to know.

Later that evening, our neighbor called us.
Tell her not to worry about anything, she said kindly.
Kirby was looking for gum! She said laughing.
Gum? I asked, making sure I heard her correctly.

He found gum in my daughter’s purse and now he likes to chew it! She giggled.
The dog was the bandit.
The dog was the one who rummaged through the purse.
We did laugh about this incident, right there and then.

But ask the animals, and they will teach you, or the birds in the sky, and they will tell you.
(Job 12:7)

A cat ran away.
A squirrel ran wild.
A dog ran scared.

The cat ran away from a nice warm home and good food to seek his own pleasures.
The squirrel entered a place that was not his own and panicked.
The dog tasted something good and ran after it time after time.
Our behavior can be very much like these animals.

We run away from security and stability to chase after something that is beyond our grasp.
We find ourselves in situations where all our inhibitions fall away.
We taste that one thing that seems so good at the time but is actually lethal to us.
Temptation, recklessness, and guilt.

We can relate.
But God whispers our name.
Come away from all that glitters. Lay down your guilt. Come Home.
Come Home.

Do you hear Him?
You do not have to run any more.
You do not have to hang your head in shame.
Confess. Repent. Come home.

Forgiveness awaits.