Man's Best Friend... and a dog

Meet Lucas.

Sounds like "Luka."

Sweet, fun-loving, all-over-the-place, Lucas.

I just met him this week, too.  He already doesn't like to be left alone and he just loves biting at my hands and feet, hoping that I'll play.

So, how did I end up with a dog?  Oh, this is a good one...

I was at worship practice on Wednesday afternoon when Jose Luis came in and told me, "You have a surprise waiting for you at your house... well, in the community center."

A surprise for me? At first, I just thought Mike brought more furniture for me to store at my house (it's an on-going joke because my house has the most storage space since I live alone).  To my question of whether it was another couch or a table, Jose replied, "Well... it does have four legs..."

I thought he was joking at first.  Nope.  There was a dog waiting for me in the community center when I came home. He was curled up under stacks of chairs in the dark. I had no idea how big or small he would be or if he was going to be covered in wounds or dirt.  I prepared myself for the worst.

To my surprise, he was precious.  Bringing home a dog was nowhere on my radar when I woke up that morning, and though admittedly I was hoping to find a reason to say "no,"  I couldn't turn this puppy away.

A prayer of Shayna, Luis, and my heart has been that God's Light would be manifested through our lives as we begin ministering this fall.  With that in mind, as well as a powerful word the Lord spoke to me from the book of Luke recently,  I instantly knew his name would be Lucas, which means "Light Bearer."

But really, this story goes back even further.

Mike and Jose Luis were at the prison on Wednesday and saw Lucas (formerly known as "Scooby Dump" and before that "Boca Negra").  He was trying to play with another dog but was clearly alone. They pursued more information and discovered that he and his siblings were thrown out with the trash not too long ago. The other two dogs were adopted respectively by a carrito driver and another woman, but Lucas hadn't found a home yet.  Upon hearing this, Mike put Lucas in the car.

But really, this story goes even further back.

I had been feeling an urgency in my spirit to pray for protection.  At times, being a single woman living alone in a foreign country can be unsettling;  however, God has spoken promise after promise over me since I returned of how He is my Protector, my Guardian, and my shield, and I know to whom I belong.

Last year the Lord engraved Isaiah 54:4-5 in my heart, and once the Lord gives you a promise, you know it's forever...

"Fear not, for you will not be ashamed; be not confounded, for you will not be disgraced; for you will forget the shame of your youth, and the reproach of your widowhood you will remember no more.  For your Maker is your Husband, the Lord of hosts is His name; and the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer, the God of the whole earth He is called."

Then when I was tempted to fear a month ago with male advances and the community's knowledge of my living situation, God spoke to me again in Genesis 15:1...

"Fear not... I am your shield; your reward shall be very great."

He answered my cries through Psalm 12:5...

"I will place [her] in the safety for which [she] longs." 

I know that I know that I know that God is protecting me and I cling to His promise night and day.

Yet still, there had been a heaviness in my spirit to pray for protection. I can't put my finger on it.  It could be spiritual warfare or just an awareness that though I know God's promise is true, I am also called to be vigilant.

I confessed this feeling to Shayna and Luis on Monday during a prayer meeting and we asked God to send angels to encamp around our property and for rest in His promise of protection.

Then Wednesday happened.

Do I think Lucas entering my life was an accident?  Not at all. I think he was sent to me by God to be my guard, to bring a sort of light into the darkness, and to be my friend.

He's just a pup now but he's learning who feeds him, who walks him, who plays with him, and who cares for him.  It wont be long before he's fully grown (only God knows just how big that'll be..) and singling me out as his to defend and protect.

God never ceases to amaze me in how He answers prayers.  It is HE who provides protection and HE who is my protection.  There is no safer place to be than in the center of God's will.