Wake-Up Call 2, The Return of the Beasts

5:30 a.m.
Growling. (Our dog.)


Me (surprisingly enough): "Peter, wake up! I think the dogs are back."
Peter (drowsily grumbling): ". . . mm, no they're not. . ."
"Yes! I hear dogs downstairs. Wake up!"
Grunts. Doesn't move.
"And the cats. Listen!"

Peter stumbles out of bed, glances over the balcony, and before I realize it, he's downstairs.

After the night of the attack, I suggested he keep a loaded BB gun by the bed. My son owned three. When Peter went to load them, he found all of them broken. A friend suggested throwing ice water, but there wasn't time to fill a bucket.

Peter enters the yard--unarmed and in shorts. I pray for his safety.

The Lord is good. The dogs see Peter--not three, but four of them this time--and leave tout de suite.

So the word for today is VIGILANT.

The Bible says in 1 Peter 5:8: "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:"

Just as the stray dogs roam the streets looking for vulnerable cats, the devil is constantly on the prow seeking to attack us through our weaknesses.

The next verse of scripture in 1 Peter 5 says that we can resist Satan through our steadfastness in the faith, our "casting" ourselves on Jesus Christ. Casting means "to throw forcefully". We cannot throw ice water or shoot BBs at an invisible enemy. So it's comforting to know that if we throw ourselves into the ever-loving arms of God and stay tight there, no matter what, we'll be safe.

Now about these cats . . . We're not always going to be here for them. I hope with each dog encounter, these felines are growing wiser. Or at least faster.