Pet Sitting 101

I had my first crash course in pet sitting last night. But, I feel that it is crucial to share that when the instructor instructs you to make sure that the door locks are turned a certain way when you go out, one should in fact follow directions. Yours truly learned her lesson this morning.

Lesson #1:

6:30 in the am and I let the dogs out to use the bathroom. They came back in, but Sammie needed some coaxing to get back in. I get Sammie and come back to realize that I have shut the door behind me and it is now locked! I am locked out of the house! There are two beagles inside the house staring at me, but I am on the outside! I walked around and tried all the doors. Locked. I checked the windows. Locked.

Here I am in a strange neighborhood, locked out of the house, in my pajamas (not the best thing to be meeting the neighbors in) with no shoes on. My cell phone is inside the house. I have nothing. So, I did the first thing I thought of. I prayed. I asked God to send me a miracle or an angel to get me back into this house. The neighbor to the right is non-existent as the house is for sale. The neighbor to the left is not home. I'm getting ready to start thinking of another plan or finding another house to go to when I turn around and notice that the neighbor across the street is backing out of his garage and then he stops and gets out (as if he's forgotten something).

"Excuse me! Excuse me!" I yell as I am sprinting across the front lawn shoeless and in my pajamas. "Are you James' neighbor?" (Duh, he's James' neighbor)

He starts laughing at me and says "Did you lock yourself out of the house?"

"Yes! Please tell me you're the neighbor with the key!" (It's at this point, I remember James telling me that one of his neighbors had to let him in his house one time when he was locked out.)

"That's me!" he says

"Oh, you're an angel!" I said. (Maybe I should have held that in)

Meet my new best friend (and angel), James' across the street neighbor.

Lesson #2:

Now that the pet sitter is back in the house safe and sound with the pets, we continue with our morning. I decided to do my devo outside since the house has an awesome screened in porch (the key is in my pocket at all times now). And, how fitting, I'm reading in James.

James 1:2-8

Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. For that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord, being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

Our God has such a sense of humor and has made me laugh all morning! I imagine He got quite the chuckle out of me running around the neighborhood like a crazy lady in my pajamas with no shoes! I like James' use of the word various to describe the trials we encounter. Various means anything. Big or small. Death and sickness or being locked out of the house. But, these various trials do test us and they do test our faith. I was thinking about how I stopped and prayed in the backyard and how it was one of the first times that I seriously prayed hard and with no doubt. I had no doubt that God would get me back into this house and that He would show me a way. And, He did. It was such an awesome thing to read that part of James this morning and think about what had happened and see how just into the details God is and how He provides.

What a blessing this morning turned out to be!