Wandering Doulos

The other day my faithful dog Midnight Max Doulos and I went fishing. We had been in the boat for about an hour or so when I cast my line towards the bow. As the line was about to hit the water I heard a loud kerplunk! Doulos, who is just a puppy, jumped out of the boat and into the river. At this point we were about 25 feet from a lump of marsh grass with a sand bar about three wide and two feet deep. The rest of the space was all marsh, mud and water.

Doulos swam to the bank and quickly ran into the thick marsh grass just sloshing away. Meanwhile, I had gotten the boat close to that little spot of sand where he came to my whistle. As I stepped out of the boat into foot deep water Doulos looked at me as if to say, “I’m going my own way.” Then he took off into the swamp marsh and all I could see was the tip top of each blade of grass swaying to his movement. I whistled, hollered and called telling him the way to no avail. He could hear me but he was going his own way. Then things got much worse. A violent thunderstorm began to roll in. Lightening was popping all around and the pounding sound of rain was getting louder by the second. Once again with all I had I called to my dog trying to show him the way to safety. That is when I heard a very loud terrifying sound of him falling, splashing then total silence. My heart stopped. All I could think of was the large gator I had seen in that area just a week or so before. My mind could just imagine that gator grabbing him and taking him under the water and I would never see Doulos again.

After a few moments of dead silence a bolt of lightening reminded me of the storm just seconds away. Now I had to make a decision do I leave Doulos here and take myself to safety or do I wait as lightening and rain fill the sky. If I leave him he will surely die before I can return.

After uttering a silent prayer, I decided to lie down in the boat and wait the storm out. After a few minutes there was a lull in lightening and rain, so I stepped out of the boat whistled and called his name hoping to show Doulos the way. This time I saw the marsh grass sway and move. Soon Doulos popped out of the tall marsh grass and into the river just a few feet away. He had heard his master’s voice showing the way away from danger and into safety. When he reached the boat this time he jumped right in the boat! Then off we rode to take shelter under the I-10 bridge.

As we rode I couldn’t help but think about my relationship to my Master, Jesus Christ. He is constantly showing me the way through His Word and by His Spirit. As I walk with Him I hear Him say, “Whenever you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear this command behind you: ‘this is the way. Walk in it.’” (Isaiah 30:21) May we all as followers of Christ learn to respond to the voice of God quickly as He leads us away from danger and towards the still waters and green pastures.