A Young Boys Prayer

Shortly after Monica and I and the boys moved from a two bedroom condo to our house in Broken Arrow, Monica and the boys began to talk about wanting to have a dog. I think Karis was around 11 and Kenny 7 years old. Our house had a fenced in back yard, so it made a perfect surrounding for a dog. However, I was not as excited about it as they were. Actually, I love dogs. I had two when I was growing up. Both of them were small, house dogs that lived a full life and I even cried after the first one died. My issue was that I felt about it the same way my mom and dad did, when I asked for a dog. “We are not getting a dog, because you will not take care of it and I will end up having to take care of it and I don’t want to have to take care of your dog.” So, that is what I told them too. Isn't it amazing how we end up sounding and acting a lot like our parents?

Monica and the boys were disappointed and I felt like the bad guy and we ended the discussion, but they continued to discuss it. The boys would continue to ask Monica in the car on the way to and from school. So, Monica decided to ask the boys to pray about it. We didn’t have the terminology down at that time, but she was having “Faith Walk” conversations with them. In case you don’t know what a “Faith Walk” conversation is: Faith Walks are simply a category to describe conversations about God that unfold in the context of the family’s day-to-day life. Every question that arises in the daily walk of life is an opportunity for parents to form their child’s faith.

• Table discussion,
• Kitchen conversations,
• Topics which unfold while watching TV,
• Trips in the car

A few weeks later, Karis was given a homework assignment to write a paper about “something he really wanted and why.” Karis had written about how badly he wanted to have a dog, specifically a Lab and he and Monica were discussing this paper in the car after school that day. As they were driving down 71^st street, they see a big sign on the side of the road for Lab puppies. Monica and the boys wanted to stop so badly. They felt this was possibly an answer to prayer, however, Monica reminded the boys that I had said “no” to having a dog and that they were going to respect my decision and follow my leading as the leader of the family. She talked about one of the ten commandments is to honor your father and mother. Karis was disappointed, but Monica told him to keep praying that God might soften my heart to allowing the boys to have a dog. Monica told me about their experience that day and about Karis homework assignment. I felt bad, but also felt like I had to stick with my decision not to have a dog.

A few days later while on the phones with a client (I was not on staff at the church at this time,) I could hear a dog barking in the background. She put the phone down and came back to the phone and said “you don’t know anyone who wants a dog do you?” I stopped and cringed. If she had told me about the dog in any other way, I could have shrugged it off, but she asked if I knew anyone who wanted a dog. The answer to that question was yes. She then told me it was a chocolate lab puppy that had been left on their door step. My response back was that I did know someone who wanted a dog. She told me she was taking it to a Vet to get it’s shots and told me where the Vet was located and said whomever was interested could pick it up there.

So, I called Monica and I told her about this conversation and this dog. I told her not to get excited, but that I wanted to go see the dog first with her and then we would decide if we would take it home or not. We went there over our lunch hour while the boys were in school. When they brought the dog out to see us, she was beautiful. She had a very calm demeanor and I said we would take her. I never told Monica that I had always wanted to have a chocolate lab myself, even though I also knew the work and responsibility for having and training a dog. We had to leave the dog there one more day to have it spayed.

When Monica picked up the boys from school, Monica asked the boys, who has been praying for a dog? Karis shouted, I have been praying for a dog. Monica told them about the phone call at my work and about us going to see the dog and how I had changed my mind about us having a dog. Both boys were extremely excited, but especially Karis. So, then they talked about what they would name the dog and we came up with the name, Grace or Gracie, because we felt it was by God’s grace, that He softened my heart and how He orchestrated the steps to finding this dog. Also, coincidentally, Karis’s name in Greek means “grace”.  

We have had Gracie now for 9 years. She is the smartest dog I have ever owned and has been a huge blessing to our family in many ways. Once while we were on a family vacation, she was left at home. She helped prevent a burglary of our house. We had a bedroom window broken out, but I guess she scared the burglar away, because nothing was stolen and they never got into the house according to the police.. Every time we stop and think about how we were able to find Gracie, we think about this story. God heard a prayer of a young boy and softened the heart of a father to hear the Holy Spirit inside enough to change his mind. Monica still has Karis’s homework assignment as a testimony of this story.

There are so many cool things to see in how God worked through this entire story. Through the Faith Walk conversations with Monica and the boys, her discussion with them about how to handle and respect the answer “no”, to answered prayer following the decision to respect and honor the answer “no”. I very easily could have told that person on the phone that I didn’t know anyone who was looking for a dog, but I didn’t. The experience was a great spiritual learning lesson for me as well, because it taught me that I need to listen, when I hear that still voice inside telling me to pay attention to this event and don’t be afraid to change your mind. It’s not always about what we want that’s important, it’s about what God wants that’s most important. I have no doubt that God wanted to bless a young boy with this dog and I also know he blessed the young boy in me, that always wanted a chocolate lab too. And he blessed a family with a great God lesson.

Psalm 37:3-5 

Trust in the Lord and do what is good; dwell in the land and live securely.⁴ Take delight in the Lord, and He will give you your heart’s desires. ⁵ Commit your way to the Lord;
trust in Him, and He will act,