Having a border collie puppy in my “old age” has been a long term dream, but it has usually been impossible because of my lifestyle and ministry commitments. Just a few weeks ago, I was actually offered a puppy, but sadly had to say no, because of ministry travels planned for this spring. Then several things all began to happen at once.
I began to sense that God was cautioning me not to make the ministry trip planned for this March. I sensed He was showing me several reasons to stay at home:
- firstly because I have a lung condition and am in the list of “at risk” people who are advised not to travel during a pandemic. Various friends and intercessors had been exhorting me not to travel unnecessarily.
- secondly, because the Brexit situation means that I am without health care at the moment, and this makes any kind of health emergency (like getting bronchitis or covid) a lot more expensive. I'm battling to get into the Spanish healthcare system at the moment and leaving the country could jeopardise that process.
- thirdly, I felt the Lord was showing me that spending money on multiple PCR tests and a stay in an expensive quarantine hotel was not good stewardship of resources for the sake of just one week of meetings.
- fourthly, various missionary leaders had been telling me they’d felt prompted to cancel their travel plans because they might seem “reckless” in the current climate and possibly not a very good testimony.
Just as I was beginning to sense a big question mark over my March trip, airlines began sending emails saying that flights were cancelled, and European nations began closing their airports to flights from outside the EU. It was beginning to look as if travel might become impossible and not just unadvisable. At the speed things were changing, there was a very real possibility of being stranded somewhere if airports took even further measures while I was out of the country. Paradoxically, a number of different people who knew of my desire for a dog just happened to take initiative to tell me that they’d be happy to look after my dog whenever I had to travel in the future.
Early in February, I was in a large (online) gathering of missionaries and someone shared a prophetic word about our being called to enter through the narrow gate and walk on the narrow path. (Matthew 7: 13 - 14) The gist of the message was that we should not compromise, embracing current ideologies of what is “politically correct,” and neither should we wander from the narrow path for the sake of our own preferences or comfort. Strange as this may sound, I felt prompted to respond with a prayer of willingness to lay down my dog dream. “Lord,” I prayed. “I have dedicated my whole life to following you in steps of faith and obedience. If the ministry path you’re currently calling me to walk on is “too narrow” for a dog to walk alongside me, I’m okay with that, and I willingly make that sacrifice again.” Amidst some tears (because it’s been a dream for such a long time) I left it at that.
Ironically, just two days later, the adoption association got in touch again and told me the puppies had been rescued and were now old enough to leave their mother. There was a little female border collie for me, if I wanted her. When I saw the video, I began to have a growing sense that God was saying, “This is my gift to you, my daughter. It’s the right time to say yes.” So I told the association that I was interested.
But there was one final obstacle: much of Spain is currently in perimeter lockdown. That means that you are not allowed to go beyond the borders of your own town, unless you have written police permission (called a justificante) to prove that your journey is for a genuine emergency. The puppy was 500 km away in the region of Extremadura and it didn’t look as if there was any way it could be sent down to Andalucía; also it was far too small to be sent by any kind of courier service. I would need to find out if I could get police permission to go and pick it up.
So I phoned the town hall and the police station to explain my situation and ask if I could get a justificante to go and pick up the puppy, which had actually been offered to me before the lockdown began. The police assured me that a dog did not count as an emergency and there was no way I would be given police permission to venture beyond the limits of our town. The only people allowed to travel at the moment, they told me, are the military and the national police force.
So, that was that. It looked as if the puppy was an impossibility after all. “Well, Father, I prayed. “Perhaps this is a sign that the timing isn’t quite right yet. It would take a miracle for this particular puppy to be able to come to Málaga, and you would need to do the impossible for me.”
About an hour later, I got a phone call from the adoption people. “We have amazing news,” they said. “A friend in the policia nacional is able to bring the puppy right to your doorstep. He can bring her on Friday if you simply pay the transport costs!”
If I needed any confirmation that I wasn’t making a selfish mistake and that it truly was the right timing for a puppy, this was it. Only a miracle could make it possible for a little rescue puppy to be driven 500 km across the country with a police escort!
And so my baby arrived this weekend - the best Valentine’s present that anyone could have. I’m already in love. She’s a tiny little tricolour border collie and I’ve called her Maiki (pronounced MY key) an Afrikaans word that means “little friend.” (In Afrikaans, it’s actually written Maatjie, but I hate to imagine how people would try to pronounce that here…. so I’ve kept the pronunciation and given it a Spanish spelling.)
A dog is a 15 year commitment, and you don’t usually adopt a puppy when you’re 70 or 80 - at least, not without running the risk that it will outlive you. So I’d been aware for quite a while that “time was running out” if I were ever to get a puppy of my own. I feel very blessed now that the dream has finally come true. I’m still a missionary :-) and my lifestyle will still involve privileges and sacrifices. But now I’m a missionary with a dog, and it brings me great joy.
You probably won’t get it, if you’re not a dog lover yourself. But if you are, I invite you to rejoice with me.
