Krickettlady Lane

I heard a bark at the door.  I knew it was my dachshund Matilda.  Two seconds later, my rat terrier Dilly signaled by her bark that she was ready to come in.  ”Two by two here they come,” I thought.  It reminded me of when Jesus sends them out two by two in Matthew 10:1.

I’ll paraphrase the rest.  You get all authority from God the Father and you will face many trials.  When you look at the trials, you might be dissuaded and decided not to go.  That’s why sometimes I should write that first verse on my palms in a sharpie, something that doesn’t wash off.  We have the power.

But back to my dogs.  I think God chooses to share his lessons with us in every day ways.  We don’t have to flood ourselves with doctrine.  Yes, read and pray and praise…but God will have his way.  We can relax (rest) in that.

My dogs go out together, even though they can really only tolerate each other.  They get along for this one.  They do face adversity.  There are big dogs, children not behaving, adults who don’t like them…and men.  My one has never liked men, since I got her.  They could get run over and the list goes on.  But they don’t care.  They are fearless. They bark without fear.  It’s their nature and they don’t pull back or apologize for it. They are little dogs, and act as such.  They come back together, and when they don’t, I go back and retrieve the lost soul.

They may just be dogs and I hold a special place in my heart for them.  I am their shepherd.  But I had to think, “what would happen if we even had that much courage?”  If we just followed directions and let God take care of the rest.

When I was a missionary in Sri Lanka, I read books about missionaries.  Some died.  And certainly, going out two by two can apply to your own neighborhood.  However, I was afraid I might die.  I had to ride a scooter in traffic that included cows, goats, big buses, Mercedes and rickshaws.  I decided to pray in tongues for fifteen minutes before getting on my bike and then prayed in tongues out loud the entire trip.  It served me well.  Probably a practice I could apply in my present life to something.

But God told me I wasn’t going to die.  He was coming to get me and bring me home.  It was a hard trip.  A lot of barking going on with bigger dogs.  I started signing “Swing Low Sweet Chariot” on my bike trips. (coming for to carry me home?)  God heard my bark.

If we only knew that instead of demanding the big picture, we knew God was looking through the blinds of the window as we were in the yard.  Just waiting to open the door when we come barking.  He doesn’t forget us.  He will come get us, too.  That doesn’t matter what the circumstances.

I’m glad He uses regular, every day life to teach us. It’s not complicated.  WE have been given the authority. There will be adversities, and we’ll come back to the big house and bark once at the door.  May we all be little dogs, cause the enemy may look like a big dog….but we all know every repairman is afraid of the little dog.  The big dog holds nothing on us.  The little dogs have the power.