Did you ever ignore something peculiar; only to massively regret it later? My last overnight babysitting venture with my twins nieces aka “my bubbies” presented me with that very humbling experience. Mom and dad were away, and auntie and bubbies were at play. We had two nights with the house to ourselves.
The only member of the bunch not excited for this arrangement was the family dog, Daisy. Daisy does not receive nearly the amount attention and pampering when mom goes away. So while our dear Daisy was sulking, the rest of us were partying.
Our parent-free time began Friday afternoon. After the bubbies lessons ended, we had a quick stop at In N Out Burger, and then we were headed home to hunker down for a fun-filled weekend. It was a dark Friday evening when I pulled the van into the driveway. The bright headlights danced across the garage door as the distracting smell of our In N Out Burger take out order filled the van. We hurried inside for our delicious dinner splurge.
Post dinner, we congregated in the living room, where Daisy aka ‘mopey dog’ kept looking out the window. The blinds were drawn, but she would put her nose in the gap between blinds and force her head through, looking out into the dark abyss of evening. Naturally I assumed mopey dog was longing for the return of mom.
The first time she poked her head through it was just once and for a moment. The next time she stayed longer and sat down. The last time she made herself especially comfortable, poking her head through the blinds and lying all the way down.
Ever the observant adult, my reaction to Daisy’s seemingly ‘mopey’ behavior was to snap some photos. I sent the Daisy photo text to my sister to assure her that at least one party at the house was missing mom.
The next morning the hubbub of breakfast and 9 year olds excited energy filled the house. We were in the midst of our breakfast prep, when I received word from my sister. Apparently one of the neighbors had texted her at 2am that their van lights were on. GULP. I went outside to investigate, and sure enough, I had left the headlights on all night! I turned the ignition key and heard the dreaded “click click click”. We had a dead battery.
As embarrassment swept over me, and my colossally stupid mistake, I became further shamed when I remembered Daisy’s crystal clear warning behavior from the night before. She wasn’t missing mom, she was trying to alert the family that someone was in the driveway with their lights on. If dogs could talk Daisy would be shouting, “I told you so”.
Daisy didn’t just warn me once, or twice, but three times. What was my response? I took photos, chuckled at her mopey behavior, and then dismissed her. Luckily the cost of my faux paux was limited to hurt pride and a new car battery.
Mamas, stumbling is a part of life. Warning signs are there, but are we really paying attention? Do you dismiss them? Chuckle at them? When navigating through your winding, sometimes isolated, infertility path, you will stumble across potholes. Hindsight will bless us with lots of ‘should have’, ‘could have’, ‘if only’ pothole possibilities.
Our potholes are coming; they are an inevitable part of life. But Jesus is walking this pothole-infested journey with us; step by step. Whether we stumble or do a complete face plant, we need to put our pride aside and allow grace to wash over us. Jesus is always by our side, even in the hard moments. He will never tell us, “I told you so.”
“Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor:
If either of them falls down, one can help the other up.
But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up.”
Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 NLT
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