The Prodigal Return

This is kind of a crazy story. It was just a Saturday. A normal beginning of sleeping in a little later than normal, enjoying a good cup of coffee while journaling and dreaming about all the happenings of life when I received a phone call from Ryan, one of the guys on our team here in Guatemala.

"Misha's gone!"

"What?"

"Misha… someone set off fire works and it scared her and she broke the leash and took off running… I can't find her!"

Misha is our dog. We joke about how much she teaches us about the Father but this "ordinary Saturday" would prove to be the deepest and most profound glimpse of His heart we've seen yet.

Ryan and Henri (another guy on our team) ran on foot up the mountain in the direction that Misha went while Morgan and I jumped in the van and eventually caught up to them. After several miles of uphill driving we arrived in El Hato- a small village in the mountains above Antigua where we found Ryan, sweating and exhausted talking to locals in the best Spanish he could muster. 

"Un perro, blanco y negro." (A dog, white and black.)

Locals affirmed seeing her running even with the broken part of the leash still attached. They pointed further up the mountain where the roads stopped. 

So we set off on foot in different directions calling her name and whistling for her. No luck.

I can not even tell you how worried we were about our girl.  We know the harshness of the wilderness here and we know Misha and how scared she is about almost everything. We felt like parents. Our girl is missing and we don't know where she is or if she's ok. 

We sat and prayed and asked the Lord for direction. We asked for Him to reveal His purposes. Certainly our day had been redirected and we knew that His goodness and sovereignty were not compromised. 

The word that He spoke was, "wait and trust." 

Over and over again we would hear this. After about 3 hours of searching that morning and early afternoon, our hearts pounding to find her and draw her close, we headed back down the mountain the 5-6 miles to our house. We were all tired, hungry and a little heartbroken. Yet we felt the Lord continue to tell us to wait and trust. 

Then at around 9:30 PM, a good 12 hours or so after her disappearence, Ryan hears the faint sound of her collar outside our main gate and he took off running to check… there in the cold rainy darkness Misha sat. Ryan yelled at the top of his lungs, "Misha's home!" and we all fell in the floor huddled around her wet body. 

I cannot even describe to you that moment. It feels a little rediculous but I was so overwhelmed with happiness and relief that I just cried. It was the only thing I could do. 

Our girl is home and she's safe. 

We could have been mad that she ran away from us. She ran away from the protection and provision and love that we offer but being mad at her for that wasn't anywhere on our radar. We just longed to have her back inside of the love and safety of her home with us. 

We quickly bathed her and dried her off and fed her (we even gave her some turkey which is her favorite!) and gave her clean water. We couldn't help but lavish her with every bit of our affections. We held nothing back. "All that I have is yours."

I have never seen a clearer picture of the Fathers heart at the return of His sons/daughters. Luke 15 is the story of the Prodigal Son and Older Brother. The story goes that when the younger brother returned from his rebellion and squandering of his inheritance the Father saw him coming from along way off and ran out to him. He brought him in quickly and completely- lavishing all that He had on His son whom He loved and undoubtedly had been worried about. 

"Let us celebrate! For this my son was dead, and is now alive again; he was lost, and now is found," (Luke 15:23-24).

The Father could have been mad at the son for leaving the abundance He offered and even squandering all that he'd been given. But the Father was SO overjoyed to have His son home- safe and back in the abundance of relationship with himself. 

Our Father has set up boundary lines for us to live in. Inside of relationship with Him and walking in His will we have abundance of peace, joy, safety and security. We have full and complete access to Him- our perfect Daddy. Those boundary lines are not meant to be a withholding of fun or joy or life… they are absolutely for our good. Just as our home and all the love and shelter and safety we provide for Misha isn't to punish her or keep her from living or having fun. Our home is meant to be a safe place for her. Full of life and love and peace and security. 

Oh how His heart beats to have us home with Himself. To draw us near and to pour out His love over us. 

…I'm crying still.