And Snoopy's escapade continues . . .

The Snoopy Story continues . . .

She was lost for 13 days, but now is found! For 13 days Snoopy, a silver gray, one year old cat, a kitten really, disappeared from her home. During this time her family called and cried and posted signs and ads and walked the neighborhood calling her name. Then, one day Luke and Patrick, a friend and golf buddy, came home in the middle of the day to eat lunch before leaving to play golf. When thunder and lightening began to threaten, they changed their afternoon plans to stay home to watch a movie downstairs on the DVD in Hannah’s space (this area used to be the dwelling place of Luke before he left to live in an apartment). When the movie finished, Luke remembered a secret place he had discovered when the family had first moved into this house 10 years ago. Under the rock front porch an empty space the size of a small room existed. The only way into this room was from an under the stairs storage area by a small door.

Was there any other way into this space? No… unless a rock had lost its hold around the sides of the porch, then another access might be found. A terrible thought crossed his mind. What if . . . Snoopy had somehow managed to find such a space? Quickly he went out to check and there was a missing stone under the porch’s right floor. He called, “Mom, come here. I just had a terrible thought.”

Now, Mom couldn’t imagine what that might be but she answered, “Just a minute, let me close this computer program.”

Closing down the computer, she walked to the front door as he asked, “Mom, look here, was that rock missing before?”

To which she replied, “No.” and she caught the idea in his mind and cried, “Snoopy!” and there appeared a small grey face holding two sad yellow eyes and two grey paws.

A tiny “Meow!” tinted the air and Luke flew like a fighter jet to the rescue into the house, down the stairs, into Hannah’s room: moving aside the memory trunk, he opened the door to the storage space. Box upon box stood in the way to accessing the small white door lending into Snoopy’s prison.

“Patrick, grab the boxes!” commanded Luke’s voice. Picking up box after box he handed each to Patrick who handed each to Mom who stacked them wherever she could. The way through the boxes seemed to take hours when in reality only minutes passed before Luke opened the access door and out whisk Snoopy! Not a barely alive cat, but a highly indignant cat ran into the room, one who seemed to say with the tilt of her head and the lift of her tail, “What took you all so long anyway?”

Overwhelmed by the many offered dishes of food and water (as all had run to get some) she simply galloped up the stairs into the kitchen to partake of cat food and cat water at the proper eating place. A little of each and she purred and purred and purred rubbing between the legs of her exuberant owners. Although a little thinner and smelling like Miss Haversham’s musty closed house, she seemed quite her old self, impatient to skid across the floor chasing a piece of dry cat food or her toy mouse.

As the family waited for their Dad to come home, they spoke of the miracle God had performed. At lunch that very day they’d prayed again for the little lost cat and then she appeared! Luke held Snoopy in his arms while he waited with Hannah, Seth, and Mom for Dad to come home from work. Dad’s eyes lit up stars and his face beamed with joy at the sight of the small grey creature who had been lost and was now found, a family member restored to her heritage. How did she survive the August heat without food and water? Water seeps in through cracks in the rocks whenever the flowers are watered and usually an abundance of camel backed crickets dwell in such underground places. None were to be seen inside the rocky room after the rescue and so the assumption is the crickets became Snoopy’s food and the seeping water her drink.

I wonder how many times I wonder away snooping into life’s small dark spaces. Investigating those spaces, do I too slip in, falling down into an empty space sealed away from my family and my Father? Do I end up existing on seeping water and crickets when the Father provides abundant drink and food? And, yet, He never gives me up for lost, His voice calls and my small cry for help is answered. In fact, He seeks my attention in every possible way by calling through friends, through His word to find me and bring me back to the family.

Snoopy’s escapade had further consequences, as once found and returned to her home, she rarely goes more than a few hops away. No more long journeys down the street or into neighboring yards for her, no more all night playing around in the bushes. Out she might go for a minute or two and then back she comes. Is that why He allows us to stray, so we, His children, may turn from self-desire, self pleasure, self seeking, and seek only to stay close to Him?