Before Sara or I could stop him, Little John darted out the front door. My heart went into my throat.

You see, I grew up out in the country on a farm. The dogs we had over the years were medium to large sized ones who stayed outside. Let me tell you, those dogs has road smarts. They knew to be leery of cars.

Little John was nothing like them. At all. He was a miniature dachshund who stayed in the house. When he went outside, he was either on a leash or he was carried. So, he had no road smarts whatsoever. And that was what scared me.

“Stop, Little John. Stop!” Sara and I were both yelling as we chased after him. Let me tell you, Little John had those short legs going as hard and as fast as he could. We simply could not catch up to him.

As for me, I had just come in from work, so I was still wearing my work/dress clothes. I kicked off my flats in the grass and continued on in my knee high hose. I even ran that way over the gravel in the driveway.

Why?

Even though Little John was Sara’s dog, we all loved the little fella. He was a part of our family. I couldn’t stand the thought of him running into the road and getting hit by a car.

So I did what I had to do. I ran almost barefooted over rocks as I screamed like a banshee.

I dare say a lot of you are thinking about Jesus coming after his lost sheep.

“Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I, even I, will both search my sheep, and seek them out.” Ezekiel. 34:11 (KJV)

While this does apply, I want to take this concept a little further.

Sara and I never caught up with Little John. He stopped running when he reached Tim’s parked truck. I still remember him standing next to it and looking up at it while wagging his tail. Then I realized what was going on inside of his doggie brain. He thought if he reached the truck, we would take him for a ride.

Sara swooped him up into her arms and held him close.

“And when cometh home, he calleth together his friends and neighbors, saying unto them, Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which was lost. I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance.” Luke 15:6-7 (KJV)

This is the part that I think many people overlook. When Jesus found that little lost sheep, he didn’t scold it. He rejoiced in finding it. In fact, all of Heaven rejoiced with Him.
Why? Because He loved that little sheep so much that he died for it. Now that is real love.

We didn’t have the heart to scold Little John. To be honest, he wouldn’t have realized why he was being punished. He just wanted to go for a ride.
As for me, you better believe I took my time and tiptoed across those rocks when we walked back toward the house.

Brooke Cox is an author, speaker, and storyteller. Also, she is a member of Toastmasters and will be attending storytelling camp again for the 4th summer. She was a 2016 Selah Awards Finalist for Debut Novel. And she has two books out in her storytelling series: “Saucy Southern Stories.” The Amazon links for her books may be found on her website: brookecoxstories.com. Please feel free to contact her. She would love to hear from you.