Timing is indeed everything! Lee Ann and I have dreamed of the day we can own enough property to provide a loving home to rescued cats and dogs. Today I wondered if the time had come with benefit only of love and a fenced in yard. Allow me to tell you about Annie Parker and what God is asking you and me.

If you’ve seen the movie “Up” then perhaps the interjection “squirrel” has become a part of your vocabulary too! Well this week we’ve said “squirrel” quite a bit in the church that houses our office. One (we hope it’s just one) furry friend found its way inside and has been scampering the halls since Monday. Yesterday a humane trap was set and within a few hours the visitor had taken the peanut butter bait and wanted o-u-t! Two of us took him to the nearby city park to release him.

As we entered the park I noticed a small scruffy dog near the road. Its once white coat was gray and although it didn’t look malnourished I sensed it was homeless. We released the squirrel and didn’t see the dog again. We didn’t see the dog but I did again this morning… on a bridge on a busy street literally stopping traffic.

I allowed the cars around me and the now wet, red-mud colored dog (it rained all night) to stop me from at least trying to get the dog in the car. But a picture of the, I assume, abandoned dog stayed in my mind. I talked with Lee Ann not long after the sighting and I told her about the dog. When I started crying just thinking about him I headed her admonition to do something.

I called our vet for advice and to be sure they could see the dog, found a soft cloth, and headed out for my first animal rescue. By the time I traveled the two miles to the last place I had seen the dog I had named it Annie Parker … Annie for Orphan Annie if it turned out to be a girl and Parker for finding it in the park if it turned out to be a boy.

I slowly drove and walked around the area but no dog. I called as best I could (I am sure anyone hearing me had to laugh since I am accustomed to calling cats!). Discouraged I was about to drive out of the park when I felt an urging to go back to one area again. I did and there was Annie Parker! She/he was not glad to see me. I did all the things I thought I should to lure the dog to me but A.P turned tail and ran deep into the woods. At the break in the trees where she/he dashed in I saw three bowls – evidence someone else cares about the dog with no home.

The story of the lost sheep came to mind as I drove, dogless, out of the park. The good shepherd left the entire flock to seek out the one lost sheep. One is valuable … especially to God. So I said a prayer that God would protect Annie Parker and I vowed to keep coming back to see if I could befriend A.P. to the point of providing safety and a home.

Where are the lost “sheep” around you and me? The cats, dogs, little people, old people, families …. Even one is important to God. How do we let them know they matter to us and God?