The Dog and Me

When I was seven years old, my family moved 1,500 kilometers to a new city. While my parents looked for a house for us to live in, my family lived with one of my dad’s coworkers and his family. The house we were staying in was an exciting place. It was in the country, and there were lots of places to explore. There was a place to play baseball, there were lots of trees to climb, there were farm tools to play on, and there was plenty of room for riding bikes.

The house sat at the end of a really long driveway. Usually, I never went to the end of the driveway. There was a big gate there, and besides, I was too busy catching lizards and doing all sorts of other things.

But one day, I wanted to do something different. I noticed that the gate was open, so I wandered down the driveway in search of adventure.

When I got to the end of the driveway, I looked down the road. Whenever my family went anywhere, we always turned left, toward town. But I had never gone to the right. So, I turned right, planning to find out where the road went.

I didn’t get far. Suddenly, a huge dog appeared. It looked really mean. It was growling and coming straight at me.

I froze. I was really scared. I thought for sure the dog was going to bite me.

But then I remembered something. I remembered that Jesus takes care of us and helps us when we’re in danger. And I remembered that I could pray and ask Jesus for help. So I did.

It was just a short prayer: “Dear Jesus, please help me!” was all I said.

Suddenly, the dog stopped. Then, it put its tail between its legs and ran away.

“Thank you, Jesus,” I said. Then I turned around and went back to the house.

When we’re afraid, Jesus will help us. We should pray and ask him. In Psalm 56:3, the Bible says, “When I’m afraid, I will trust in you” (NIrV). So, let’s trust Jesus.