It was a run like any other, except at the end. I left my house and I covered my mileage. I took a selfie and I was on the process of sending it to my family in Brazil when I heard some chatter from far away. I lifted my eyes to see a man across the street talking to his pit bull who was coming in my direction.
If you know me well, you know I’m not a dog person. I dread the possibility of running into stray dogs during my runs. I trust most people keep their dogs locked in but as I experienced that day, pit bulls wonder away from their owners. I had no time to be scared so I immediately started praying. The pit bull was acting friendly and you guessed it, his owner was still on the other side of the street acting like the dog was going to return on its own. I kept going my way and the friendly pit bull was following me. Still, no owner. By that time I had finished my prayer so I decided to stop walking because I didn’t want that dog to follow me all the way home. The dog owner finally comes over and puts a leash on the dog. He doesn’t address me at all so I say loudly with a tone of relief “Thank you and have a blessed day.” Surrounding people in their cars are amazed by the whole thing and they smile big at me, I go on my way.
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| This was not the dog I encountered: it was way bigger than this! |
I find out what’s inside my heart during those moments I don't have time to be scared. There’s a Bible verse in Psalm 56:3 that says “when I am afraid, I put my trust in you.” The thing is, sometimes stuff happens so quick you don’t have time to be afraid. I learned that it is wise to have a foundation of trust for times like this.
I wish I could tell you my story was over. I went home and proceeded to have a normal family day. My husband took the kids to an outing in the park and I stayed at home doing homework. He called me and told me that our son hurt his arm while playing. I found myself facing another unexpected pit bull. After I took in the information he gave me, I dropped to my knees and I prayed to the Father. I can’t remember everything I said but I remember declaring my absolute trust in Him. I got up from that prayer thinking, “God’s for us.”
My husband took my son to the ER and after an x-ray they said his arm was fractured. We were thankful that our son had minimal pain as he came back home on a sling.
While I was waiting to hear what was going on with our son, I reached out to a few friends who prayed for our son. I went on to prepare our family for the weekend and an amazing trust filled my heart and mind. It was as if I was a different person. I can't take credit for any of it except for insisting in reading the Bible and getting to know the God I worship better.
Friends, I learned twice in one short day how sometimes you can’t predict what kind of pit bulls will come my way. All I can do is to have my trust on the right Person. I make my words the words of Psalm 31:14:
“But as for me, I trust in You, O Lord,
I say, “You are my God.””
God can handle any pit bull that comes my way. That’s a proven fact.
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