It's amazing how the Lord sometimes uses animals to protect people from danger.
I remember reading a story about a man who was hotly pursued by his enemies and ran into the
woods. He found a hollow log and hid himself inside. Soon afterwards, his enemies came upon the
site. He could hear them kicking and stomping over underbrush and old logs around him. He
was filled with fear and trepidation. He laid in the hollow log afraid to even breath for
fear of making a sound and being detected. The minutes ticked by ever so slowly. Soon, he heard their foot steps
leaving the scene, and he was puzzled. Why hadn't they looked inside the log where he was in?
Well, his enemies didn't bother to look inside the hollow log because the opening was covered
with spider webs.
While our story is not quite as dramatic as the story above, we know without
a doubt that the Lord used our three-month-old puppy to protect us. My son Michael and I went out for a walk on
our 35 acres with our three
dogs--Opal, an American Eskimo, Max, an Airedale, and JJ, a German Shepherd. JJ stands for Jasper Jade. It had been my practice, if not opposed
by some family members, to name our pets after precious stones because that's what they are--jewels.
It was an exceptionally beautiful day. The sun was shining and hardly a cloud
overhead. Since coming to live here at Big Rock Ranch in the mountains in East San Diego, we
had made it a daily ritual to go on these walks with our dogs, and it had become the highlight
of our day.
We had not gone long, when out of the blue came a herd of big dogs, five of six of them, vicious looking, coming at us at an incredibly fast pace. We were surprised; we didn't know where they had come from.
Frightened, Mike and two of the dogs, Opal and Max, turned and ran back to the house. The vicious dogs were now almost on me, and I knew I couldn't run fast enough to get to the house. I started climbing the barbed wire fence that enclosed our property. It wasn't easy climbing a barbed wire fence.
Meanwhile, our puppy JJ stood there, accessed the situation, and took charge. He let out his deepest, meanest barks and growls, and the
dogs turned right about face and disappeared into the bushes. It only took a second, and the dogs were gone.
I was so proud of JJ. I got down from the fence and hugged and kissed her.
This experience has helped strengthen my faith in the promises of God that He will take care of me. He will protect me from danger even if He has to use an animal to do it.
This is a picture of JJ and me taken over 20 years ago.
