Today's Scripture Reading

Today's Devotion

One icy cold night in December 2010 after my husband had left for work it was just me and my puppy, Buddy, a lively and loving golden retriever.  That night I thought I had put Buddy on the leash;
I thought hubby had heard that I was calling out to him about grabbing Buddy.  My hubby later told me that he saw Buddy running after him on the way out the alley.

I could not go up the icy cold steps; I was still dealing with bad shoulder injury problems and did not want to fall again in the snow and ice.
I felt helpless about the situation.
I did not want to lose our puppy of barely just one year old and there was nothing left I could do except to pray: pray for our puppy's safety and his return home.

I prayed hard late that night, and during part of that time, Buddy came up over the edge of the yard and looked at me as if to say "I know I'm off the leash, but I'm not ready to come home just yet, and to not worry."
It was hard not to worry.
Buddy had become a special puppy and friend.
So I had to put faith and trust in God and feel the sense of the Holy Spirit there with me, while I put Buddy's food outside near the back steps.
Buddy finally became hungry and came to start eating the food,
and I used the food bowl to lead him back in doors, where he would be fed, watered, warm and safe.
I could breath at last.
It was hard to let go for just a minute.  It seemed like a lifetime to me.
Yet, that it what we are often called to do in our faith journeys and with trusting that the Holy Spirit will guide us in all areas of our life, big and small..
I am still learning from what the Holy Spirit has to teach.
Sometimes, as in the situation with the puppy, the lessons are hard to learn.  Sometimes i think I am the person learning to wait and then respond when things happen, and other times I am the puppy, not wanting to be controlled.
Sometimes we do not want to be taught.
With the Holy Spirit's prompting us to love, however, we will learn how to trust and have faith even in the simplest part of things.
Even though it was scary to go through that situation with Buddy, I am grateful for learning that night how to listen and because of that keep on learning lessons about myself and growing more like the person of faith that the Holy Spirit is calling me to be.

Marci

Today's devotion was shared by

Marci McGowan

Marci McGowan is a member of First Christian Church, Asheville, NC and an active contributor to our DisciplesNet devotional page. Here she brings her reflections on the Holy Spirit during Pentecost week.