By Guy K. Henry

www.guyhenry.com

The truck slid in the mud on its way to the top of the hill. In the front of the truck sat two quiet hunters. The back of the truck held seven anxious dogs.

“Do you think that the dogs are ready to hunt?” the younger hunter asked the driver.

“Let me tell you something,” he answered, “you don’t have to teach a beagle how to hunt.”

In the back of the truck, General, the daddy of most of the pups, was telling the young beagles what to expect.

“When the men open those doors,” he barked, “ you all pile out of the truck. Don’t forget to bark as loud as you can and wag your tales.”

“What do we do after that?” little Tyson asked.

“I am glad that you asked,” General yelped. “Run into the woods with your nose to the ground.

The puppies listened intently. He continued, “When you smell the wonderful smell of a juicy rabbit, you let out a howl, and chase that little fur ball!”

“Can you show us how to howl?” asked little Sniper who had been dreaming of hunting for the past week.

“I would be happy to,” said General as he drew in a deep breath. He held his nose up high and said, “Hooooowwweeelll, Wooooo Wooo Hooooowwweeelll Wooooo Wooo!”

In the front of the truck, the passenger quickly looked backwards. “What is going on back there?”

“That is just old General showing off!” said the smiling driver.

The puppies in the back of the truck studied General as he howled for them.

“Like this General?” asked Sniper, “aWoooo aWoooo!”

“Well, that is quite good,” answered General, “just work on the Hooooowwweeelll part.”

Soon most of the puppies were practicing their hunting howling. General could not be more proud of them.

There was one little girl who was huddled in the back. Ruthie was not howling like her brothers and sisters. She was not even sure how they could stand the racquet. As for chasing rabbits, Ruthie could not figure out why she would ever want to do that. “Why run after rabbits, when there are all kinds of interesting flowers to sniff,” she thought.

The truck came to a stop and both of the humans jumped out. General pushed his way to the doors to lead the charge. Most of the other pups crowded behind him. Ruthie was busy cleaning her paws.

The men flung the doors open and out poured a stream of black and tan barking beagles. They followed General to the woods in search of rabbits.

The older hunter smiled proudly. He started to close the doors when his smile fell from his face. “Ruthie!” he scowled.

Ruthie lifted her big brown eyes up as if to ask, “What could you possibly want?”

“You know what I want,” the frustrated man said as he reached into the truck to drag Ruthie out. Ruthie stood at the edge of the truck.

Both of the hunters rolled their eyes. The older man picked Ruthie up and set her on the grass. Immediately Ruthie pressed her nose into the ground for a good sniff.

“Go get ‘em!” yelled the younger man pointing to the woods.

The men then left Ruthie to catch up with the other dogs. Ruthie was happy to explore the high grass. She sniffed the flowers. She rolled in the dirt. She chased butterflies. “This hunting thing is more fun than I thought it would be!” she thought.

An hour later the hunters and dogs returned from the rabbit hunt. “I count six dogs,” the younger said.

“Ruthie is missing,” said the older.

The men loaded the dogs into the truck and set out looking for Ruthie. It did not take very long to find her. Not far away, Ruthie was sleeping on her back, enjoying the warm sun.”

“Ruthie!” the older man shouted, waking her up from her nap.

Ruthie began to happily wag her tail. She wondered if they would be nice enough to rub her belly.

“Get up!” the younger man ordered. Together they quickly marched Ruthie back to the truck.

On the ride home the little dogs exchanged stories of rabbit sightings. That is, all of the puppies except Ruthie, who was lying in the back, cleaning her paws.

 In the front of the truck the younger man asked the dreaded question. “What are we going to do about Ruthie?”

“I do not know,” the driver said, “but I can not keep and feed a beagle that will not hunt. I guess that we will have to get rid of her.”

Meanwhile, five miles away, on the other side of the mountain there was a man who lived with his dachshund, Peanut. Every day they played together, sang songs together, and slept on the couch together. Their days had happy times, but something was missing.

Peanut asked the question that she asked every day. “Are you ever going to find me a little brother or sister?”

In the valley lived a man named Gary. Gary knew Peanut and her daddy. He knew that Peanut’s and her daddy’s hearts longed for a little beagle brother or sister.

He also knew the hunters on the other side of the mountain. Gary knew that Ruthie was not working out as a hunting dog.

One rainy Thursday afternoon, Peanut and her daddy were sound asleep on their couch. Peanut’s ear twitched as the sound of a car door slamming came to her. Then she heard more noise.

Quickly, Peanut sounded the alarm. “Woof Woof, Grrrr Grrrr Woof Woof!” Peanut shouted.

Now Peanut’s daddy was awake. He peeked out the window to see what Peanut was so excited about. He saw an unfamiliar white car sitting in the driveway.

“Wait here Peanut,” he told her as he found his shoes. “Let me see who it is.”

He recognized the man standing on the front stoop as his friend. “Hey, Gary!” he said still a little sleepy, “How are you?”

Gary smiled, “I’ve got something to show you.”

The two men walked to his car. Gary opened the back door. Curled up on his back seat was a little beagle, licking her paws. “Her name is Ruthie.”

Peanut’s daddy scooped up Ruthie and gave her the first hug of many.

Gary explained, “Ruthie won’t hunt, and her owners can’t keep her. If you are interested…”

“Oh, I am interested!” The man answered still hugging the quiet beagle.

“She may not hunt,” Gary said, “but she will make a good friend.”

I am reminded how God never makes mistakes.

He didn’t make one when he made Ruthie a non-hunter. God knew about Peanut and I, and made Ruthie a precious little friend for us. Ruthie may not chase rabbits, but she is packed full of love, and needs to be loved. As I write this, Ruthie is happily snoozing on my couch next to Peanut. Soon I will join them. I wouldn’t change a thing about her. Ruthie is no mistake!

Psalms 139:14 says, “I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.” You know, God did not make a mistake when He made you or I.

Sometimes I have wished that I could do things or have things that I do not. Sometimes I have even wondered why I am here at all. I forget that God has a plan and a place for me.

You are not God’s mistake. He knows all about you. God knows everything that you can do, and everything that you cannot do. He has a perfect plan for you. Somewhere there are people who need you, just the way you are.

A few days ago, Ruthie might have disagreed with this. She must have been frustrated by the message that to be a good beagle, she had to hunt down rabbits. She must have felt like a bad beagle.

The truth is that God had something else in mind for Ruthie besides hunting. God knew about Peanut and I, and how much we needed her. She is not a bad beagle. No, she is just perfect!

I can guarantee that we will be frustrated as long as we try to be someone else besides the person God has created us to be. Let God take charge. Let Him move you to where He designed you to be.

Philippians 1:6 tells us, “Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.”

God hasn’t made a mistake yet. Trust me, you aren’t going to be the one to break His record! Those around you need you. They need you just the way God made you.