Today I had an interesting conversation with a friend. Some of it was “what would you do” or “what would you say” if you encountered this or that situation. I would remind him of various scriptures in the word of God. It brought back memories.

When my oldest daughter was 2 or 3, we lived up on the top of a mountain in Southern Vermont. At the time we raised Great Pyrenees and one of them deemed himself protector of her. Every where she went, he went with her. Max was one of those large, lumbering dogs, weighing over 150 pounds. When she was but a baby he would lie with her on the floor, his large body wrapped about her. He would open his eyes with each passing person. Looking to see who it was.

On one occasion while I was out back in the garden a friend showed up. I did not hear his truck. Perhaps 10-15 minutes after he arrived, I walked around the corner of the house. What I saw was two feet sticking out my front door. As I got close, I called out “John?” Nothing. Walking up the steps, I saw Max had his arm in his teeth. He never broke the skin. “John, what are you doing?” As he started to speak, Max growled. I went over and got Max, releasing my friend. “John, what happened?” His response brought me to laughter. I walked through the door, never giving it a thought and your dog, walked over, grabbed my wrist and ‘plopped’ himself to the ground. When I tried to call out he just growled. I was ‘waiting’ for you!”

I often think of Max now that my daughter is over 30. He reminds me of the God, I believe in and serve. One who “wraps” me with His protection and stands against my “enemies.”

A few years later, my daughter was at that place where she walked around the property. Because we lived on a deserted road, she would take off down the road with Max at her side and often a few puppies. Dressed in her Oshkosh overalls, if she veered away from the road, Max would grab her by the “suspender” part and return it to the road, while the young puppies looked on. Kind of like I envision the spirit of God doing. Keeping me on the path. “My word is a lamp unto my feet and light unto my path.” The pups-His little angels!