Let A Sleeping Dog Lie

I snapped this photos of Hooker the other day when my mom was here, and they reminded me of something.

A few weeks ago, I found out firsthand what the phrase “let a sleeping dog lie” means. It was a cold day and Hooker was curled up on her bed in a comfortable, protected corner of our porch. She looked so peaceful and cozy, but it was getting dark and I wanted to make sure she stayed warm…so I brought an old blanket out of the house and carefully draped it over her body.

When the blanket touched her body, she instantly woke up, whipped her head around, looked at me with dazed expression and glazed eyes… And suddenly snarled/barked at me like she wanted to eat me for dinner.

She immediately came to, realized who I was and what I was doing, and her face softened and melted into its usual sweetness. Once I made sure she was herself again, I sat down and loved on her and told her I was sorry for startling her. And she laid her head in my lap and wagged her tail and snorted, like she always does when she’s happy.

Poor Hooker. She’d been a stray when Josh found her. She’d seen a lot. She’d experienced a lot.

There’s no telling what goes on in those dreams of hers.

So we came to an agreement that day. I promised always to love her and cherish her…and always to say her name and give her a little heads up before covering her up with a dog blanket in the middle of one of her deep dog sleeps.

After that, I had a long talk with the kids, explaining to them the difference between waking up a dog like Hooker…and waking up a dog like Charlie, who sleeps 23.9 hours a day and doesn’t care who does what to him while he sleeps.

I think we all get it now.

Ree Drummond~ The Pioneer Woman
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

And so it is with us. God sometimes gives us things to deal that we do not want and is totally not what we were expecting. It is in those moments we have to accept that warm blanket of protection that he wants to give us to see us through. He is our protector whether we are curled up in the corner asleep or wide awake.

The God of my rock; in him will I trust: he is my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower, and my refuge, my savior; thou saved me from violence. I will call on the LORD, who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be saved from mine enemies. 2 Samuel 22:3-4