The Puppy Story
A Testimony of Jeffery Parks
April 11, 2014
Last revision, April 13, 2014
Preface
April 11, 2014
Last revision, April 13, 2014
Preface
I became saved for the reasons of a child. When I was 9 years old, a dear pet of mine, my dog “Bruce”, was run over by a truck and died. Bruce was named after a local popular high school basketball player that I was enamored with. As many children have, I asked my mom if my dog would go to heaven. Rightly or wrongly, she told me that he would. I, of course, wanted to be with my dog and asked Jesus to come into my life. A few nights later, while lying in my bed, I became keenly aware that I had asked Jesus into my life for the wrong reason. I righted that wrong that night, the best I knew how. And just to make sure I was “extra-saved” and “extra-baptised”, in accordance, with unwritten Baptist theology, I recommitted my life to Jesus and got re-dunked, four or five times more over the next couple of decades.
It was a short time before or after I became saved that I began to question, “If God does exist, why are Christians not shouting it from the rooftops? Why are they not standing in the streets ringing bells and telling other people about God?” It didn’t make sense to me that the creator of the universe would receive so little attention, so little respect, and so little praise. Fast-forward 40 years later to today. Do you know how many people I have told about God and what He has done for me? It is not many more than can be counted on my fingers and toes. I somehow fell into the same trap that so many others have: I found the creator of the universe--the creator of all things--as well as His love, then I somehow I managed to lose the excitement and passion of it all.
The story I am about to tell is part of a beginning effort to change that. Sometime when I was between the age of 9-12, I saw with my own eyes—and experienced--a miracle of God that one might expect to have read from the book of Exodus or the book of Acts. I call the story simply, “The Puppy Story”.
It was a short time before or after I became saved that I began to question, “If God does exist, why are Christians not shouting it from the rooftops? Why are they not standing in the streets ringing bells and telling other people about God?” It didn’t make sense to me that the creator of the universe would receive so little attention, so little respect, and so little praise. Fast-forward 40 years later to today. Do you know how many people I have told about God and what He has done for me? It is not many more than can be counted on my fingers and toes. I somehow fell into the same trap that so many others have: I found the creator of the universe--the creator of all things--as well as His love, then I somehow I managed to lose the excitement and passion of it all.
The story I am about to tell is part of a beginning effort to change that. Sometime when I was between the age of 9-12, I saw with my own eyes—and experienced--a miracle of God that one might expect to have read from the book of Exodus or the book of Acts. I call the story simply, “The Puppy Story”.
“The Puppy Story”
It was summer of 1973-1975, ironically the “dog days” of summer. Our family had been blessed with a batch of newborn puppies. Most children love puppies and I was no exception. The mother dog had birthed her puppies in an old red shed that was crowded with dirt, farm tools, and equipment. I am sure this was where she felt she could best protect her puppies from the summer heat and from any predators that may be lurking.
One day, I walked out to the shed to see the puppies. Their eyes were just beginning to open and they still could not see very well and had little fear. However, they knew my footsteps meant that they were about to receive some love and attention. So, as such young puppies will do, they began to run toward my footsteps, even though their little eyes were not even completely open. That was when I saw a poisonous snake, coiled and ready to strike, directly in the path between the puppies and my feet! The poisonous cottonmouth pit viper was very common in northeast Arkansas at that time and a bite would be absolutely lethal to a puppy.
Those of you who are Christians and have at least four decades under your belt, were raised in a time when your parents made it well-known to you that using God’s name in any way that was not in reverence toward God was the same as cursing and was considered blasphemy. It is the 3rd Commandment that says we are not to use His name in vain. Consequently, I was taught to never say, “Oh my God!” or “Jesus!” or any other usage of God’s name without all the reverence I could muster as a child. It was simply considered a very bad sin—a line I didn’t cross. Unfortunately today, adults and children alike use God’s name like margarine and with little love, respect, or reverence. And I am ashamed to say, it slips from my mouth too on occasion.
I explain my reverence for God’s name in my youthful years to prepare you for the miracle of the story:
When I saw those puppies rapidly prancing toward my feet with that snake directly in the path, I felt completely powerless to do anything to prevent the impending harm that was about to come to them. They were moving too fast and I had no way to divert them. I didn’t have time to think, “Hmmm, what can I do to keep the puppies from running upon the snake?” or really even to yell at them in some sort of angry way in hope that they would stop and turn away. There was simply no time to do anything that would change the course of events that were about to occur. The puppies were in full gallop and were short feet from the snake, which was already coiled and ready to strike.
I was powerless.
It was at that moment, when those puppies were in full gallop and my physical body thought it could do nothing to change their course, that the spirit inside me—my spirit—took over and roared in a low guttural tone that I didn’t know I had in me, “OH MY GOD!”. It was in a tone and with a force that Moses himself would have been proud of. I cannot express to you how disconnected what came out of my mouth was from my intent. Those words came out of me, if you will, “against my will”. I had no intention for those words to come out my mouth and I considered those words a blasphemous sin. Yet those words welled-up inside me and rushed out of my mouth before I knew what happened. To my knowledge, I had never used those words before—ever.
The puppies were startled by my thundering voice and I have a vague memory of them stopping in their tracks just from fear of this great voice that came out of me. But, that was not the miracle! The miracle was that the snake was struck immediately by the invisible hand of God and it began to die! Not surprisingly, it was not an easy death. The snake’s belly just split open and its guts began to spill out onto the ground. Nor was not a quick death. The snake writhed and turned end over end several times in its death spiral.
Beyond what my eyes had just seen, God gave me yet another sign after the snake’s belly opened up and its guts began to come out that would live with me forever and confirm that what I was seeing was real and not of this earth--that it was a spiritual and not a natural event. That it was not spontaneous combustion or whatever other speculation that man would indulge his skepticism to presume.
This “spiritual” event that took place was that not only did the snake’s belly just open up and its guts spill out, but that its guts continued to pour out from its belly as though something was pulling the guts out of it. I mean the snake’s guts just kept coming out and coming out, in a very unnatural way. Every organ that snake had in it, I presume, continued to pour out onto the dirt and gravel until that snake was utterly undone.
Anyone, except possibly someone that has also seen a biology defying miracle such as this, would be skeptical. My dad thought maybe a garden hoe fell on it and sliced the snake open. I don’t blame him or you for being skeptical. I would be too if someone told me this story. Believe me, I even second guess myself about it to this day. I ask myself, “Did I really see that snake’s guts continue to come out?”. And every single time the answer always is, “Yeah. I did.”. So, am I suppose to stick my head in the sand and pretend it never occurred just because it was very un-natural? No. The world needs to know that God is working in lives -- even in supernatural ways.
I have spent almost 40 years “not” shouting from the rooftops that there is a Holy God and that He loves His children and looks after them and their needs and their concerns and I don’t want to do that anymore. I mean, God really, really loves and cares about His children. I have seen and felt His power in not only this puppy story, but in other ways too—very wonderful and comforting ways.
Just think. I have seen with my own eyes a miracle from God and except for my parents, a few friends, and a Speech class I told the story to in college (for class credit), I have kept it pretty much to myself for over 40 years. What a tragedy! God performs real miracles in our lives all the time. We are missing an opportunity to bless each other and possibly win others to Christ.
As it turned out, that poor snake was not even poisonous. Yes, I mislead you to think it was poisonous, because when I saw it, I absolutely thought it was poisonous! Cottonmouths were very common in northeast Arkansas at that time and we have killed more than a couple in that very shed. There was no doubt in my mind that the snake was poisonous. That is why I cried out to God using words I previously had not even dared!
Upon closer inspection, the snake was only about 18 inches long, but it didn’t matter to my God -- my Father -- my Daddy in Heaven. His child, whom He loves dearly, was troubled desperately by an unfolding tragedy that was about to happen right before His child’s eyes. This unfolding tragedy was “the scary monster under the bed”, “the nightmare that made the child cry”, and “the fight that mommy and daddy” had. It didn’t matter to my Father in Heaven what it was that was scaring me, He just knew I was scared and He came immediately to His child’s rescue. My Daddy in Heaven didn’t need me to call to Him using fancy words, pleading tears, sore knees from prayer, or days of fasting. He was just being Daddy.
Most likely, one of the puppies would have only ended up with his feelings hurt and a bad sore for a few days. But, that didn’t matter to the Lord God, my Father in Heaven. My spirit called out, my prayer was heard, and received its answer, within a millisecond. This is your Daddy Heaven. This is what He does. He comforts, He protects, He loves you. He is watching over you every moment of your life.
So what is your “Puppy Story”? God works in our lives. We see His love and miracles every day but we tend to keep them to ourselves. This is a tragedy. How many blessings are we preventing our brothers and sisters from receiving by failing to share our stories? How many lost are we losing because we have kept silent about what God has done for us? I know I am guilty. There are other things I have yet to share. But, I’ve been virtually quiet for over 40 years. Let me be quiet no more.
One day, I walked out to the shed to see the puppies. Their eyes were just beginning to open and they still could not see very well and had little fear. However, they knew my footsteps meant that they were about to receive some love and attention. So, as such young puppies will do, they began to run toward my footsteps, even though their little eyes were not even completely open. That was when I saw a poisonous snake, coiled and ready to strike, directly in the path between the puppies and my feet! The poisonous cottonmouth pit viper was very common in northeast Arkansas at that time and a bite would be absolutely lethal to a puppy.
Those of you who are Christians and have at least four decades under your belt, were raised in a time when your parents made it well-known to you that using God’s name in any way that was not in reverence toward God was the same as cursing and was considered blasphemy. It is the 3rd Commandment that says we are not to use His name in vain. Consequently, I was taught to never say, “Oh my God!” or “Jesus!” or any other usage of God’s name without all the reverence I could muster as a child. It was simply considered a very bad sin—a line I didn’t cross. Unfortunately today, adults and children alike use God’s name like margarine and with little love, respect, or reverence. And I am ashamed to say, it slips from my mouth too on occasion.
I explain my reverence for God’s name in my youthful years to prepare you for the miracle of the story:
When I saw those puppies rapidly prancing toward my feet with that snake directly in the path, I felt completely powerless to do anything to prevent the impending harm that was about to come to them. They were moving too fast and I had no way to divert them. I didn’t have time to think, “Hmmm, what can I do to keep the puppies from running upon the snake?” or really even to yell at them in some sort of angry way in hope that they would stop and turn away. There was simply no time to do anything that would change the course of events that were about to occur. The puppies were in full gallop and were short feet from the snake, which was already coiled and ready to strike.
I was powerless.
It was at that moment, when those puppies were in full gallop and my physical body thought it could do nothing to change their course, that the spirit inside me—my spirit—took over and roared in a low guttural tone that I didn’t know I had in me, “OH MY GOD!”. It was in a tone and with a force that Moses himself would have been proud of. I cannot express to you how disconnected what came out of my mouth was from my intent. Those words came out of me, if you will, “against my will”. I had no intention for those words to come out my mouth and I considered those words a blasphemous sin. Yet those words welled-up inside me and rushed out of my mouth before I knew what happened. To my knowledge, I had never used those words before—ever.
The puppies were startled by my thundering voice and I have a vague memory of them stopping in their tracks just from fear of this great voice that came out of me. But, that was not the miracle! The miracle was that the snake was struck immediately by the invisible hand of God and it began to die! Not surprisingly, it was not an easy death. The snake’s belly just split open and its guts began to spill out onto the ground. Nor was not a quick death. The snake writhed and turned end over end several times in its death spiral.
Beyond what my eyes had just seen, God gave me yet another sign after the snake’s belly opened up and its guts began to come out that would live with me forever and confirm that what I was seeing was real and not of this earth--that it was a spiritual and not a natural event. That it was not spontaneous combustion or whatever other speculation that man would indulge his skepticism to presume.
This “spiritual” event that took place was that not only did the snake’s belly just open up and its guts spill out, but that its guts continued to pour out from its belly as though something was pulling the guts out of it. I mean the snake’s guts just kept coming out and coming out, in a very unnatural way. Every organ that snake had in it, I presume, continued to pour out onto the dirt and gravel until that snake was utterly undone.
Anyone, except possibly someone that has also seen a biology defying miracle such as this, would be skeptical. My dad thought maybe a garden hoe fell on it and sliced the snake open. I don’t blame him or you for being skeptical. I would be too if someone told me this story. Believe me, I even second guess myself about it to this day. I ask myself, “Did I really see that snake’s guts continue to come out?”. And every single time the answer always is, “Yeah. I did.”. So, am I suppose to stick my head in the sand and pretend it never occurred just because it was very un-natural? No. The world needs to know that God is working in lives -- even in supernatural ways.
I have spent almost 40 years “not” shouting from the rooftops that there is a Holy God and that He loves His children and looks after them and their needs and their concerns and I don’t want to do that anymore. I mean, God really, really loves and cares about His children. I have seen and felt His power in not only this puppy story, but in other ways too—very wonderful and comforting ways.
Just think. I have seen with my own eyes a miracle from God and except for my parents, a few friends, and a Speech class I told the story to in college (for class credit), I have kept it pretty much to myself for over 40 years. What a tragedy! God performs real miracles in our lives all the time. We are missing an opportunity to bless each other and possibly win others to Christ.
As it turned out, that poor snake was not even poisonous. Yes, I mislead you to think it was poisonous, because when I saw it, I absolutely thought it was poisonous! Cottonmouths were very common in northeast Arkansas at that time and we have killed more than a couple in that very shed. There was no doubt in my mind that the snake was poisonous. That is why I cried out to God using words I previously had not even dared!
Upon closer inspection, the snake was only about 18 inches long, but it didn’t matter to my God -- my Father -- my Daddy in Heaven. His child, whom He loves dearly, was troubled desperately by an unfolding tragedy that was about to happen right before His child’s eyes. This unfolding tragedy was “the scary monster under the bed”, “the nightmare that made the child cry”, and “the fight that mommy and daddy” had. It didn’t matter to my Father in Heaven what it was that was scaring me, He just knew I was scared and He came immediately to His child’s rescue. My Daddy in Heaven didn’t need me to call to Him using fancy words, pleading tears, sore knees from prayer, or days of fasting. He was just being Daddy.
Most likely, one of the puppies would have only ended up with his feelings hurt and a bad sore for a few days. But, that didn’t matter to the Lord God, my Father in Heaven. My spirit called out, my prayer was heard, and received its answer, within a millisecond. This is your Daddy Heaven. This is what He does. He comforts, He protects, He loves you. He is watching over you every moment of your life.
So what is your “Puppy Story”? God works in our lives. We see His love and miracles every day but we tend to keep them to ourselves. This is a tragedy. How many blessings are we preventing our brothers and sisters from receiving by failing to share our stories? How many lost are we losing because we have kept silent about what God has done for us? I know I am guilty. There are other things I have yet to share. But, I’ve been virtually quiet for over 40 years. Let me be quiet no more.
