Article May 13, 2013 ISSUE

Where was Annabelle?

Lois Degler

When that little puppy wriggled over to Susan, she said to herself, “I have to have her.” The puppy was a tan and white Lucas Terrier with floppy ears and a short stubby tail. She named her Annabelle Leigh, but everyone just calls her Annabelle.

Annabelle and Susan are wonderful friends. One time Annabelle went missing for a long time. Susan didn’t know where she was. And Annabelle couldn’t tell her. Here’s what happened.

One night when Annabelle was staying with Susan’s family, someone left the back door open by mistake and Annabelle got out. (And she wasn’t wearing her collar.)

The family all loved Annabelle and they did everything they could think of to find her. They drove around looking for her and put up signs in the neighborhood. They called all the animal shelters.

But they didn’t find Annabelle.

At first Susan was so sad—and afraid for Annabelle. She was also a little angry that her family hadn’t taken better care of her dog.

But then Susan remembered that she could pray, and that would be very important to do. So Susan prayed every morning when she woke up, and she prayed every night before she went to bed.

Susan knew that God is Love and that God’s love was surrounding Annabelle. Annabelle was always at home—where she belonged—with God. So she was always safe.

Very soon Susan was sure of God’s protecting and loving care. She stopped being worried and afraid for Annabelle and was no longer even thinking that anyone had done something wrong. She just knew that whether she saw Annabelle again or not, God was taking care
of her.

Then one day, several weeks later, a college girl was driving through a busy intersection and she saw a dog in the middle of all the traffic. She was frightened for it, so she opened her car door and called, “Come here.” And Annabelle jumped in. When the college girl got home she called the animal shelters and described the dog she’d found.

When Susan’s family got the call, they went to get Annabelle. Of course the family called Susan right away. Susan had tears of joy, but wasn’t really surprised. She had been so sure that God was taking care of Annabelle.

Annabelle needed a bath and a good dinner, but settled right back in. Remembering Annabelle’s story, Susan knows she can’t ever doubt that God is always keeping His creation safe from harm. She loves that promise in the Bible that says that “we live, and move, and have our being” (Acts 17:28 ) in God. And that means all of us, including Annabelle.

About the author

Lois Degler loves to teach children about God. She's a Christian Science practitioner from Franklin, Tennessee.

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