Searching for Man's Best Friend

Yesterday was an interesting day. Around noon, I was sitting in my office wondering what I should do for lunch. This usually consists of choosing between grabbing something from the cafeteria downstairs and eating in my office, or going to my house and eating something while I continue my quest to be the greatest college football coach in the history of the NCAA, or at least the best coach to use my Xbox. Then, I get a message from my brother-in-law informing me that my sister, not his wife, but my other sister, has lost her two dogs.

Quick update... My sister and her husband moved to Raleigh last weekend. He is in his first year of vet school, and it works out a little better if he is not an hour away from the school. They moved into a nice house with a fenced in backyard a few blocks from the North Hills Mid-Town area. So, Sunday night they come home and their two dogs are missing.

So, for lunch I decided I would go help her look for her dogs. If you have ever had a pet go missing, you might have an idea about her state. I gave her a call and she started crying on the phone. On the drive over, I was not real sure what my plan was for when I got there. I guess I just planned to drive around the nieghborhood looking these two dogs.

Well, while I was driving I decided I would pray about it. That might make me sound like I am someone that has a healthy prayer life, but don't be fooled. This was an odd conversation with God. I was unsure how you go about praying for a couple missing dogs. I mean does God care if these two dogs are lost? I believe 100% that he cares for the people invovled, but what about the dogs themselves?

I started audibly talking to God. I asked that he help to comfort my sister and brother-in-law. I acknowledged His control over the situation. Then, something hit me. A few weeks ago I was somewhere, and people were talking about a verse in the bible that says something about, "You do not receive because you have not asked." So, I decided to give it a shot, I said to God, "You said to ask for what we want. Well, I want us to find these dogs."

This was new to me. It is not really my style. Most of my prayers are thank you for this, that ans that other thing, or please help me with a, b, or c. I did not know what to think. I mean, I believe that God's will always prevails. So, by asking for a favor from God, was I somehow changing the dynamic of the world so everything could line up just right so I could find these dogs? I other words, do I have some effect on God's will? By asking for something to happen do I change what was going to happen?

Of course, this thought process only lasted a few seconds. Then, it was interupted by merging into traffic, and all the other thoughts that run through my mind at a million miles per hour.

While, driving around my sister's neighborhood for like an hour, and I found something refreshing. I found a hand full of people that seemed genuinely concerned for these people that they had never met. I met Farrah, a very nice old lady who has lived in that neighborhood for 50 years. Since they started building houses there she says. I met Jan and Pat at Brooks Elementary School both who were very kind and wanted to be as helpful as they could. I met an older gentleman who was willing to catch the dogs and put them in his garage. I also met a lady walking a German Sheppard that gave me tons of advice, the lady not the dog.

So... Thank you all for you help, and for reminding me that the world is not all bad after all.

In the end, my sister found Hank and Gracie at the animal shelter yesterday afternoon. I am not sure what effect my prayer had on the entire situation, but who knows.