We rounded the corner and I pointed to a house just down the street. "A vicious pit bull lives in that house. It's come after Sophie three times."
"Really?"
We walked in tandem, my close friend and I. A missionary on the other side of the world, Angela and her family were stateside, staying in our home for a few weeks as they prepared for their daughter's high school graduation.
I sighed. "Every time we walk by that house, Sophie pulls me to the other side of the street." We looked at my docile Australian Shepherd, who never met a pooch she didn't like. Already she had begun tugging at her leash.
I could see the pit bull's owner working in the yard with his other dog, a friendly mutt, and felt myself relax. At least his vicious dog wouldn't be an issue this evening.
Yet as we grew closer, ferocious barks echoed out of an open window at the front of the house. Soon we heard the pit bull's paws desperately scratching at the window screen. My eyes met Angela's with concern. "Let's speed it up and get past here."
Sophie strained at her leash, and we picked up the pace. The barking became alarmingly aggressive. The dog's owner, sensing trouble, rose from a dirt pile and walked toward the front door. Thank God, I thought, hoping he was going to close the window before the dog burst out.
My heart beat hard as we hurried down the center of the road past the house. I thought we were in the clear, until, a few seconds later--I heard paws galloping on the blacktop behind us. A shiver ran down my back. Turning, I saw the pit bull charging fiercely toward us. Trailing hundreds of yards behind him, his owner screamed the dog's name over and over, to no avail.
A savage animal was seconds away from ripping into one of us, and neither Angela or I had anything that could be used as any sort of weapon. The blacktop road held no stones we could grab; the tree line stood dozens of yards from the street, and there was no time to dash there to try and find a stick, anyway.
That's when I knew I had no choice. Planting my feet in a wide stance, I held my hand in front of me like a traffic cop directing a car to stop and screamed "No!" and then, taking a deep breath, "Jesus!"
I heard Angela screaming "No!" beside me.
The dog kept charging.
I held my ground. "Jesus!" I screamed.
The pit bull roared toward us, lunging into Sophie, who darted behind me. Not satisfied with a mouth full of fur, the growling dog lunged again and again. It rushed around my legs while I stood perfectly still, holding my body tense and whispering Jesus over and over. Oddly, no matter which way the dog moved, it was unable to reach Sophie.
"I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry!" Breathless, the dog's owner caught up to us, bending down and grabbing hold of his dog's collar. "Go home!" he ordered the dog, who, unbelievably, ran full speed back to his house. "Are you alright?" he looked us all up and down.
Fighting back tears, I knelt down to check Sophie, who, though missing clumps of fur, appeared to have no bite wounds. Angela and I, though deeply shaken, were unharmed. God protected us. He protected our dog. Unfathomably, a ferocious pit ball had broken loose and charged us, and the only visible damage was the dog fur scattered on the street.
I will never forget the day that Jesus protected me, my friend, and my dog from an angry pit bull. Not that I'm surprised. After all, God closed the lion's mouths while Daniel camped out in their den all night. But still, when He shows up and prevents imminent bodily harm, well, I can't help but feel flat-out amazed.
When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears, and delivers them out of all their distress and troubles. - Psalms 34:1
How about you? Can you share a time that God intervened and protected you?
10 comments:
Wow!! This story gave me chills especially knowing how many people have been maimed or killed in put bull attacks. Praise God!!
God has been protecting us in a more general way--seeing us through this recession. He's heard my cry to Jesus so many times and each time, He DOES respond.
Amen!
Oh Julie... Praise the LORD!
My story is of numerous accidents and such where I should've been dead by all accounts... God spared my life and no real serious harm came to me. God is always there to protect. He doesn't always stop the injuries that could happen... but HE stops it short of disastrous harm. My latest incident was a motorcycle accident on August 5th. I wrote a story about it. If you're interested in reading it let me know. I'll email you the pdf book I made. It's only 14 pages. It's still the rough cut. No real proof reading has taken place.
Praise the LORD!
Powerful! Tears are welling. Guideposts magazine is calling!!! :O)
This is an amazing story that you have to tell. I was on the edge of my seat, and got teary reading it. Sometimes all we have time for is a "bullet prayer" straight to the throne..."Jesus!" Awesome that you had the courage to stand there like a traffic cop, knowing there was a ferocious animal charging you. When I was 7, it was raining and my mom had picked me up from school and the car fishtailed off the road. We were headed straight for a tree and my mom yelled, "Jesus!" The car stopped right before we hit. He is our protector!
And one last comment...WHY DO PEOPLE OWN PIT BULLS?!?
Amazing story, Julie -- and what an amazing God we have.
Years ago, we had unexpected car trouble along the interstate in Colorado and had to pull over so my husband could go and find help. In just minutes, we heard helicopters pass by overhead. Someone was able to give us a temporary fix, and we were on the road again before long.
We went just a short distance around the bends of the mountain highway and saw that the helicopters had come because of a terrible wreck. Two bodies were already covered with sheets. Had we not had that unexplained car trouble, we could have been in that accident -- or at the very least, some of the first on the scene, which would have been quite traumatic for our girls who were young at the time. We knew God spared us that day...
I'm loving all the stories on God's protection! It's so encouraging to read how He has intervened in our lives.
What an amazing story, Julie! Your describing the event was very vivid!
We were in a horrible car accident over 20 years ago on Christmas Eve,heading home from my mother's to our church for Midnight Mass. We were hit on the passenger side and spun around a few times. Getting out of the car, my husband and two kids were just fine, as I was. A car stopped to help us and the man in the car took our hands and we prayed right there in the middle of the highway. Just before he left, I noticed his personalized license plate which said, "Jesus Saves."
Even though he stopped to help, the police did not have a name or any other information about him.
God is so good!
My heart is thumping! I'm right there with. I haven't experienced what you did but there's a house in my neighborhood that has two ferocious dogs and I've altered my route to avoid them because those dogs scare the #$#%^@! out of me and my dog!
Poor Sophie! I bet it was the last time she walked past that house.I can't believe the owner keeps a dog like that!
Thank you Jesus for your protection.
Amen, Julie. Powerful post, indeed.
I can't imagine how terrifying that was, Julie!! One time in high school, a dog chased me and bit me. My heart pounds just reading this! But what a powerful reminder that God is our Protector. It reminds me of a time when I was 6 months pregnant with Micah and a truck ran a stop sign and blew my little vehicle off the road. All the windows shattered and it completely ripped off my door panels. But Micah and I walked away without a scratch. What is it with me and car accidents? ;0) Thanks for your sweet words of encouragement and prayers yesterday. So appreciated!!
Post a Comment