Timing

So I'm out for my evening walk, weights in hand, headed west into the setting sun. It's warm, 92, but humidity here is low and their is a stiff breeze blowing so it promises to be a pleasant walk.

I live out in the country and I head deeper into the boonies on my walks where traffic is low, it's quiet, I can talk to the horses, the bunnies, and the occasional dog as I walk by and no one thinks me odd. Well, now they do, but I digress.

About a half mile, give or take, into my walk, I pass a home where three doggies feel obliged to inform anyone within earshot that I am keeping to my exercise program. They run to the end of their drive, tails wagging to say hello. I say "Hi Poochies" and keep going. They stand in the drive for a minute watching and telling the other critters that I'm moving on as usual, and then head back home. Because I retrace my steps coming home, we repeat the process a couple miles later.

Tonight, however, my second "Hi Poochies" apparently was spoken with an inflection that in doggie-talk said "You two, follow me!" And so they did. I ignored them figuring they'd turn around in a minute. About a block later, I said sternly "NO! GO HOME!" That seemed to mean "Keep following, but back off a bit." About a hundred feet later, I repeated my stern command and added a stamped foot. That apparently meant "Ooooohhhhhhhh, she wants to play!!!" I kept walking. They kept following.

A quarter of a mile later, I turned around to take them home thinking I would have to take them to the door - a block or so from the street - and have their mommy and daddy keep them contained until I was out of sight. Nope. We got to the driveway, they each loped on past me, turned and looked, yipped a couple times as if to say, "Enjoyed it, see you tomorrow" and headed toward the house. I turned, and resumed my extended walk home, smiling, figuring the extra half mile hadn't hurt me any.

But it made me think. If they had followed me on the westward journey I'd have enjoyed the company, from the very beginning rather than just as I was walking them back home, would have talked to them about how they were likely going to be in trouble when they got home, the bunny trail I took to look in the windows of an empty home for sale, and dropped them at their driveway as I passed by, headed east. It was all about the timing.

Isn't that the way life is? How we view a new baby, a new car, a new job, a new house, change of any kind, is all about the timing. We planned it, we're happy. We didn't, we aren't. But in the end, we are generally glad it happened. 

Oh, I know, believe me, that's not always true. Some of life's experiences never feel good, even when we look back at them from the other side. But we grow and learn from everything God allows in our lives.

To be honest, I rather enjoyed those silly pups following me, watching as they ran ahead to chase a bug or a rabbit, or a blade of grass blowing in the wind. I laughed as they rubbed against my leg after my foot-stamping command to go home. Yeah, I had to walk an extra half a mile to take them home. It didn't hurt me any. I got home a few minutes later. So what? 

So I learned a little bit from those little pooches. Life is full of unexpected experiences. Appreciate them. Learn from them. Do what you can to change them if you feel the need. Move on.

Thanks guys!