A Fierce Love

Don’t turn your back on wisdom, for she will protect you. Love her, and she will guard you.

VICKY BELIEVED SHE HAD HIT the proverbial jackpot when she adopted nine-week-old Misty from the SPCA. Even at such a young age, it seemed as if the shepherd mix was so grateful to have been given a home that she was determined to be the best-behaved dog around. And she was.

Misty never had an accident inside the house, never chewed anything other than her own toys, and barked only when she needed to go out or to alert Vicky that someone was at the door. Misty truly seemed like the ideal dog. Some of Vicky’s friends were mildly annoyed that their dogs did not have such pristine reputations.

Misty’s ideal status only increased after Vicky and her husband, Rick, welcomed two sons into their family a year apart. Misty didn’t seem to mind sharing Vicky and Rick’s attention. Instead, she delighted in the presence of two more humans to love. She often slept in the same room with the boys, lay beside them on the floor when they played, and sat in the kitchen with them while they ate.

Misty was a fierce and loyal companion—something Vicky was grateful for the day a man knocked on the door.

After securing her two-year-old in his high chair, Vicky answered the door with her one-year-old in her arms. Misty followed Vicky to the door, then sat off to the side, just out of the man’s view.

The man said he was selling cleaning products and wanted to give Vicky a demonstration. Vicky pointed to the child in her arms and laughed. “I’m sorry. I have my hands full at the moment. Thanks, but I’m not interested.”

The man persisted, however, continuing to talk about the product and urging her to give him a few minutes of her time. Vicky became annoyed and went to close the door, but the man grabbed the door and attempted to jerk it open. As he did, Misty charged from her position, leapt past Vicky, and released a menacing growl. Vicky had never heard such a sound come from her dog. Misty chased the man down the sidewalk, the cleaning supplies dropping from his hands as he took off running. Vicky allowed Misty to get several houses away before she called her to come back. Vicky saw no trace of the man after that, and he never returned for his cleaning supplies.

Vicky has no idea what might have happened that day, but thanks to Misty she doesn’t need to worry about it. Misty was there to protect her family—a family she fiercely loved. And a family who fiercely loved her right back.

PAWS & PONDER . . .

How does wisdom protect you? How does wisdom guard you? What does it mean to protect and love wisdom? What are practical ways you can do that? How has wisdom protected you in the past?

Paws & Pray

God, thank you for the gift of wisdom. Help me never to turn my back on your gift but to cherish and protect it. Allow wisdom to guard my life so that others will see you in me.

The eyes of the LORD are everywhere, keeping watch on the wicked and the good.