You never realize how big your little hometown is until you lose your dog

Hey all,
I know it has been a bit since my last post, but we have been busy
celebrating my in-laws 50th Wedding Anniversary. This evolution has brought
to light some insights that we often overlook (besides the obvious exercise
in longevity and patience). Here are a couple of points that we have learned
through all of this:

You never realize how big your little hometown is until you lose your dog
... that you love
My wife's hometown is a small village in western Ontario with one main
street, one church and one little country corner store. In this global
community, we so often forget just how small we are in the REAL scheme of
things. Last week, Denise and I traveled to this little township of St
Eugene, Ontario to help her brother organize a celebration of their parent's
50th Wedding Anniversary. Since we were to be there for five days, we
brought along our 8 mo old puppy, Taz. On Thursday, we had some running to
do in the next town, so we (I) decided to leave Taz on the back patio. It
was railed in and gated, so I thought that he would be safe and secure there
...... wrooooooong. It seems the second we pulled out, our little "Houdini"
slipped the bonds of his boundaries and went on an adventure of his own.
Roy (Denise's brother), came home for lunch and called us on the cell phone
to see if we had Taz with us. Of course, we went into a panic and returned
home immediately to begin the search. We searched every street and path in
the town. From around noon until about 10pm, we unsuccessfully walked the
town and paths calling out for him. Denise and I were totally distraught. I
beat myself up with the realization that it was my decision to leave him
there. Our feet were hurting and our hope and spirits sank to the depths of
despair. We asked everyone we saw if they had seen the little critter.
Several people even joined in the search with their pets to to try to lure
out our little Mini Taz. With hope waning, I even drove slowly along the
main road to the next town (about 10 miles) seeing if maybe we was hit on
the side of the road or fell int o the river and was hurt. Nothing ... not a
trace. As we slipped into bed, I seem to listen for and hear EVERY dog in
the county, trying to determine if it was our little puppy.

After a restless and sleepless night, we had all but given up any hope of
seeing him again, when one of my sister-in-laws came by for a chat and as we
were discussing the details of everything needing to be done for the
anniversary celebration, Denise happen to mention about losing Taz. Chantal
, the sister-in-law, asked what kind and colour was the dog. We told her and
she said the she JUST seen one that matched our description only about a
half hour earlier just up the road. An area that about 5 people had combed
several times the day before. Of course, I bolted out the door, leash in
hand, and headed back to that area. Walking and calling for him. Our niece
joined me as we walked along one of the side roads asking people again. I am
so sure that they felt sorry for us and believed we were chasing lost hope.
No one had seen this phantom puppy ....ANYwhere. Denise had taken the van
and drove to the other side of the road and began looking as well. She seen
a lady pushing a baby carriage and asked her. Of course, she knew the
situation, but had not seen Taz either. Denise turned away started back to
the van, when the lady screamed out that she SEES the puppy and Denise ran
over and called for him. We had walked that same path of ground numerous
times and did not see him. I am so certain that we walked within a few feet
of where he had just been on several occasions. Even in such a small town.
And of course the reunion was sweet and intense from all of us. Taz has
clung tight to us since then and I have resolved the he will not see the
light of outside without a leash. Everyone in St Eugene, including the town
hall, helped in the search and Denise and I are eternally grateful for the
"small-town" attitude and assistance we experienced in this traumatic
situation.

The reason I am sharing this with you is to illustrate how GOD must feel
when we are not where we should be. When we "set off on an adventure" in our
life and get lost, God calls all HIS Angels and people together to search
for us and return us to his loving presence. Even in a small world, we can
get lost within sight of our protection and just out of reach of the loving
and protecting arms of our Master. In Luke 15  Jesus provided some illustrations about the same thing ... how GOD, THE FATHER, never gives up on his lost loved ones and how he rejoices when they are found. This was quite a traumatic experience for me, but I am grateful that not only did it have a happy ending and we found our Mini-Taz, but I also learned much more on how GOD loves us and regardless of what we do, or where we are, we are welcome back into the "fold" of HIS love and protection.
Since this post is kinds lengthy, tomorrow, I will talk about:

Families and distance ... by choice or not ...
Families that put distance between them ... and not necessarily measured in
miles.

May God Bless You and Yours
Gene
You can follow me on Twitter @gkelley58