The Big Dog

If I don't make any noise when I walk by that house, maybe the dog won't see me, Nolan thought. But the barking, growling dog across the street jumped against the fence around its yard, making a loud bang. Nolan took off. He was out of breath when he got home and slammed the door behind him. "That big dog always jumps at me when I'm walking home," Nolan told Mom."Since you have to pass that house every day to and from school, maybe you should make friends with the dog," suggested Mom."Yeah right. I'll just say, 'Hi, dog. My name is Nolan. Wanna be friends?'" That evening, Nolan learned a verse at Bible club--Don't be afraid, for I am with you. Don't be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you."Jesus died and rose again to save us from sin and death, and He promises to be with us in every scary situation," Nolan's teacher explained. "Whenever we feel afraid, we can trust God to help us and give us courage."The next day, Nolan repeated the verse one more time before heading off to school. As he passed the dog's house, the dog came barking and running toward him. Trembling, Nolan prayed. You said You'd be with me and help me, God. He stopped. "All right, dog!" he said loudly. "You can bark all you want, but I'm done being scared of you! You got that?" The dog backed away. He and Nolan stared at each other. Then the dog whimpered and began to slowly wag its tail."You're making friends with my Snookums!" said a voice. "I've been hoping he'd find a friend." Nolan turned toward the house and saw an elderly woman leaning on a cane. "You named this big dog Snookums?" he asked in surprise.The woman nodded. "My husband used to play with him and take him for walks, but he died recently." She sighed sadly. "You can see I'm not able to do those things." She looked at Nolan. "Snookums seems to like you, though. Would you be interested in a dog-walking job?"Nolan hesitantly agreed to ask his parents about it. As he continued on his way, he prayed, Thanks, God, for helping me. He grinned. It might be fun having Snookums for a friend. –Donna Overmyer