Precious Boy

Today I had a good reminder of precious life is. This afternoon Eli was playing out back with a couple of the neighbor boys while Dan and I were inside. This is pretty much part of our daily routine, so I wasn't really worried. Suddenly, I heard the boys in the garage, so I sent Dan out to find out what they were doing. Upon asking them why they were in the garage they said they were looking for Eli and Moez. At first Dan didn't worry, assuming that they were out back, probably on the side of the house looking at the neighbors dogs. He quickly realized, however, that they had somehow escaped with unlocking the gate. Immediately Dan rushed inside to tell me that they were nowhere inside. After a few minutes we realized that a barrier we had placed over a hole in the back fence had been removed. So I peered through the hole expecting to see them in the yard behind ours as Dan rushed to get into the van and drive around the block. As I looked through the hole calling for the two runaways I begin to panic because they are nowhere in that yard either. At this point, I am on the verge of being totally frantic, knowing that they were somewhere out of the protection of the fences. Just then, as I am near screaming their names, I hear a woman's voice ask, "Are you looking for a little boy and a dog?" Crazily, I yell, "Yes, do you know where they are?" To which she responded, "They are in my front yard." I ask her to keep a watchful eye as Dan comes around in the van. As I calmed down I could hear Moez barking and two men talking, so I headed out front to watch for their return. As I waited, the fear of the situation set in and I sat on my front porch, crying, for what seemed like eternity, waiting to see my little boy return home. Upon arriving home, I hugged him and then shook him telling him never to leave the yard again and gave Moez a big pat on head. After all the excitement was over, Dan told me the man that was waiting with the two boys had tried to approach Eli, and Moez would not let him near. So it seems that we have found ourselves a good dog, who already desires to protect what is precious in our home. Looking at Eli in bed, has never seemed so sweet. Thank God for His protection.