Hold My Paw

By Guy K. Henry

www.GuyHenry.com  

The icy wind rattled the windows, but that is not why I was awake in the middle of this cold night. No, I was whipped out of sleep by my beagle, Ruthie, who was standing on my chest and staring intently at me.

“Ruthie,” my voice creaked, “what do you want?”

I looked into her wide eyes and at once knew the answer. “Do you want to go walkies?”

I knew that I had guessed correctly because Ruthie was now doing a four footed dance on my chest.

“Ow! Ow!” I screeched as I tried to stand up. “Ruthie, please let me up!”

Ruthie jumped to the floor and continued her dance. I glanced at my alarm clock as I fumbled with my shoes. The tall green numbers glared, “3:00 A.M.”

“Ruthie,” I groggily asked, “don’t you ever sleep?”

Ruthie hopped from foot to foot which I knew meant, “NOW! NOW! NOW!”

She ran ahead of me as I walked to the back door. I noticed a lump in a blanket on the couch. “I wonder if Peanut wants to go for walkies too.” I said aloud, knowing that my dachshund understood the word ‘walkies’.

I lifted the blanket and was greeted by two dark eyes that asked, “Why are you bothering me now?”

“Peanut, do you want to go walkies?” I cheerfully asked the sleepy puppy.

Peanut heard the sound of the howling wind, and knew that meant that it was very cold outside. She grunted once, which I understood to mean, “I will be fine, please go without me!”

I covered her back up and turned my attention back to Ruthie who was now howling, “Hurry! Hurry! Hurry!”

I joined Ruthie at the back door. “Hold still so that I can clip your leash to your collar,” I fussed as I tried to work the leash’s clasp with my sleepy fingers. Finally, I succeeded and opened the door. Ruthie bolted out of the door and down the slippery deck as if she was running a sled race. I followed quickly behind her, desperately clutching the railing to avoid falling.

It was not until I reached the bottom of the steps that I realized that I had forgotten my coat. “Brrrr!” I shivered. “Hey Ruthie, is there any chance that we can make this a short walkies?”

Ruthie’s nose was to the ground and her tail was wagging. She shot a glance back at me that said, “Oh no silly, this is going to be a good long walkies!”

With that, she trotted into the neighbor’s field to begin her journey. I followed behind.

Now, Ruthie has a number of special abilities. Her nose is super sensitive. She can pick up scents that most dogs miss. She also has amazing vision. She is able to spot things long before my eyes can focus on them. In addition, Ruthie’s soft floppy ears are more than just for cuteness. She uses them like RADAR, and can pick up the faintest sounds. I was also about to learn that Ruthie has a very good and active imagination.

I had been struggling to keep up with Ruthie as she pulled me down the hill. Suddenly that changed. As we came close to an old barn, she stopped and laid down in the snow. I quickly caught up with her.

“Ruthie, what’s wrong?” I asked as I tugged on her leash. “Come on, let’s go!”

Ruthie would not move. Instead, she cowered behind a clump of high grass and shivered, though not from being cold.

I backtracked and knelt next to Ruthie.  Her eyes were glued to the barn. I tried to figure out what had spooked my pup.

“Is it the wind?” I asked her. The wind was making a strange whistling noise as it whipped in and out of the missing boards of the barn. “Wooooo Wooooo!”

Ruthie heard it differently than I did. She was sure that she heard scary voices. She imagined them saying, “Go away little doggie! If you come any closer, we will get you!”

“It is just the wind silly!” I tried to comfort her, hoping that we could get on with our walkies.

Then I heard a new noise. “Squeek! Squeek! Squeek!” It took me a moment to determine that the noise came from a window swinging in the wind.

However, Ruthie saw it differently than I did. Each time the window swung open, she imagined that she saw two glowing eyes and a set of sharp pointy teeth.

Ruthie added whimpering to her shivering.

“What is wrong Ruthie?” I asked again. “We pass by this barn every day. The only difference is that now it is dark.”

Just then, the wind changed its direction. To me it just meant that now the wind was blowing in my face instead of at my back.

This too was different for Ruthie. Her nose began to twitch as new smells came to her. She tried to identify the fearful odor. “I think I smell wild wolves!” Ruthie thought. She had never smelled a wolf before but her imagination told her that this was no baby wolf; it was a great big, angry and wild wolf.

Now even her tail was shaking with fear. I stroked her back and said, “Ruthie, there is nothing to worry about, I will protect you.”

Then I had an idea. “Ruthie, let me hold your paw.”

I pulled her soft white paw out from the snow and placed it into my hand. She was already shivering less than moments before. I firmly held onto her paw as I stood up. Ruthie stood up with me.

I gave her paw a gentle squeeze and said, “Ruthie, how about we walk past this old barn.”

Ruthie looked at me with her trusting eyes and took her first two footed steps. Together we walked past the scary barn. As long as I held her paw, she was not afraid.

We were just about clear of the barn when Ruthie stopped. She swung her head back and  howled playfully, “I am not afraid of you!” Then she looked at me and barked, “I am not afraid because, I am with him!”

 Recently I came across some great verses in Isaiah 41. In verse 13, God makes us a wonderful promise, which helps us when we are afraid. It reads:

Isaiah 41:13  For I the LORD thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee. 

That is right! God promises to hold our hand! I absolutely love that!

When we are under attack, instead of being afraid and defeated, we can extend our hand, and God will grasp it!

Only then can we look at our problems and fears and say, “I am not afraid. I am with Him!”

The verses before 13 paint the complete picture of how God works when we are afraid:

Isaiah 41:10  Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness. (11)  Behold, all they that were incensed against thee shall be ashamed and confounded: they shall be as nothing; and they that strive with thee shall perish. (12)  Thou shalt seek them, and shalt not find them, even them that contended with thee: they that war against thee shall be as nothing, and as a thing of naught. (13 ) For I the LORD thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee. 

Verse 10 promises His presence, strength, and protection.

Verses 11 and 12 tell us that whoever has attacked us will not prevail.

Moreover, we know that in verse 13, He is holding our hand, calming our fears, and helping us through the attack.  

As God holds our hand, let us remember:  

Romans 8:31  What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?