When I was about ten or eleven years old, God showed me His love and great power. Our family had gone to visit my Uncle Duane in Grant, Michigan. As a boy, I loved to visit him and Aunt Cecelia… it was
fun. My brothers and I would play with our cousins and we would always have a nice dinner. But this particular visit will always have a special place in my heart.
Uncle Duane and Aunt Cecelia lived outside the town of Grant in the country. They lived the country life, too, and kept several (?) dogs for hunting. On this particular visit, one of their dogs was lying in a bed of blankets out in the garage. It was hurt badly. We found out that the poor thing had been running around their back yard while a large bonfire was burning back there. It had run right through the fire and severely burned one of its legs. The poor dog was close to death.
For a boy of my age, and the fact that I love animals, this was a terrible sight. The dog was suffering badly and all they could do was try to make him comfortable as they waited until it died. I guess, out of compassion for my younger cousins, my uncle couldn't bear to just shoot the poor thing. It was an awful sight and I couldn't get it out of my mind.
When we went home, and after I had gone to bed, I found that I couldn't sleep at all… just kept thinking about that poor, wounded dog. So, after much tossing and turning, I decided to pray.
I remember that I prayed with all my heart and asked God to please heal that dog. I also promised Him that I would read the Bible every night for the rest of my life. I thanked Him for a long time and really believed He had heard my prayer. Finally I fell asleep.
It was months and months later when we drove back up to Grant to visit my aunt & uncle again. All the way up there I was thinking about that poor dog lying in the garage. When we got there, I looked in the garage and of course the dog wasn't there. I figured it had probably died after all. I didn't want to ask anyone, so I still said a silent prayer to God that he had not suffered long and went out to the back yard.
That was when I became certain of God's great presence in my life.
I remember that three-legged dog running around the corner of the house, happy and as friendly as could be. A huge wave of emotion hit me, stronger than almost anything I had as yet experienced at that age. God does answer prayer, and He did just that… out of love for one
of His four-legged creatures, and to make an eternal believer out of a 10 year old boy.
~ Chris
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