This morning, I witnessed a dog get killed on route 29. It was horrible. I love animals and, in my opinion, dogs are humans with fur.

Around 9 a.m., I was about to merge onto route 29 South from the Brokenland exit when I noticed a woman standing near a parked car off the exit. There is a lot of construction going on and the shoulder off the exit is blocked with constructions cones. Needless to say, there is not enough room for cars to park. The woman looked upset, but I kept going only to round the corner and see a black lab standing alone.

The lab was not on a leash and looked anxious. I immediately stopped my car and put my hazards on. I had enough sense to make sure no one was behind me, but not enough sense to stay in the car. Cars were speeding by and not paying attention to the commotion.

As I jumped out of my car, a construction worker came running up to me and I assumed it was his dog. WRONG. Then the lady I saw a minute earlier came running up to me to tell me she had been trying to ketch the dog all morning. It was not her dog either. “Lord, help us!” And at that moment, the lady disappeared. Where could she have gone? Who cares, I need to get the dog.

The next thing I see is the lady parking her car in front of the dog to trap him. Rule #1: Never back a dog into a corner or try to block a dog from running because the dog will either attack or run.

As the lady got out of her car, I panicked and tried to get the dogs attention by getting down on the ground as if I was hurt so the dog would come to me. Why? Because most dogs will come to you if they think you are hurt or have fallen. Mind you, my car is still parked in the exit and cars are speeding by.

My getting on the ground did not work. The dog did not even make eye contact with me. Instead, he ran in front of the parked car once the lady got out. She thought she had blocked him in. And as I am screaming for her to run in front of her car to keep the dog from running out into traffic, the dog stops. I thought we had him, but I was wrong.

Everything seemed like it was moving in slow motion. Unfortunately, the traffic was so loud the lady could not understand what I was saying. As the lady turned around, the dog ran out into traffic. He made it across route 29 to the last lane and then was hit by a car. The car kept going.

I spent all morning trying to get the image and sound out of my head. I still can't.

Some of the traffic came to a halt then a woman stopped her car and called the police. She was able to get to the dog as he lay dying in the grass. All she could do was put her hand on his head and caress his body. I have no idea what she said. It was still raining and I could not see clearly because I was crying so hard. I kept trying to run across 29, but there was no lull in traffic.

What would I have done if I had caught the dog? I would have put him in my backseat and driven in all the nearby neighborhoods until I found his home.

As I thought about this today, I thought maybe this is what Jesus feels when we run from him, possibly a deep sense of despair and sadness. Who knows? If we would just stop, listen and pay attention because safety is near, maybe our lives would be better. Maybe our world would be better. This is how I felt about the dog. I just wanted him to stop and realize that safety was near.

Okay, a big thank you goes out to the lovely Nikki for the awesome recommendation of the book, Desiring God, by John Piper. It is rocking my world in a great way. P. 20 reads, "...find strength from spiritual joy, not natural supplies." AMEN AND AMEN. "When delighting in God is the work of our lives, there will be an inner strength for ministries of love to the very end." AMEN, AMEN, AMEN!!!!!!

Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.