Stupid Dog

This morning I was driving to an elementary school for the last time for my 3 week practicum I’ve been doing. I was very glad that it was my last day. It has been somewhat of a stressful situation, although I love the school and feel that I have learned a lot.

Riding to this school, I take country backroads. It’s kind of like going on a wildlife safari every trip there and back. I usually see interesting birds (including turkey and quail), deer, dogs, cows, and so on. One day on the way home, I ran up on a large blue heron in the middle of the road. I slowed down my car, and it lifted its giant wings and began to fly parallel to the road and my car. I road and it flew together for quite some time. I loved it! It is so amazing to watch the neat creatures that our creative God conducted in His mind.
This morning, though, was a little bit of a different experience. On the way there, I had a dog run out in front of me. I braced myself. I thought, I cannot swerve. I will slow down, but I’m not sure if it’s enough for the dog to make it. Well, that dog did make it. He must have put himself in high gear. Well, the episode woke me up, but I didn’t like it. Then, a few minutes later, the same thing happened! A dog ran in front of me. This time, I had plenty of time to slow down, so I did, and the dog went trouncing across the road. I thought to myself, Stupid Dogs. Why would you just run out in front of a moving car when you know it’s going to hurt you?!?

And then, I heard a little chuckle. God was laughing, almost to say, now you know how I feel. Too many times, we “run out in front of cars that we know will hurt us.” How many times have I done something that I know would not produce any good in my life, or that would separate me from the God that loves me and has good plans for me? How many times have I chosen to ignore the sights, the sounds, the signs that God has all around, warning me not to do something? How many times has it left me splattered on the ground, broken? And even worse, how many times have I turned around and blamed God for it? Wasn’t I the stupid one who ran out in the middle of the road with moving traffic?

Sometimes I think I am so smart and have it all together. I look at other animals and sometimes even other people, and I start thinking how stupid some people (and sometimes animals as in this case) are, and I realize that maybe I’m not as smart as I thought I was.

I’m taking this moment to thank God for all the road signs and all the warnings that he puts up for people like me who still tend to go out in the middle of the street. His mercy has saved my life many, many times.