Well, I Felt Good About That

Here's my adventure for the day:

First of all, let me preface by stating that after this experience, my testimony has been strengthened about how not only does the Lord answer other people's prayers (whether conscious or subconscious) by working through you, but that He also prepares you for those small moments where you are needed most much far in advance. With that being said, let's commence.

Every day I have been telling myself that I need to get out and take a walk. I haven't been getting much exercise in lately and with me being pregnant, I know how important that is right now. And of course, every day I am always either so busy or something else has to come up to where suddenly it is too dark and I have lost my opportunity for a walk. Well, today I had a golden opportunity, and something inside just kept bugging me to take a walk. I had stuff I needed to do around the house, and I kept telling myself that a walk was pleasure and that pleasure comes after work, but my other hand kept telling me that it will only be light outside for so long and that I better take that walk now, or I'm going to miss out once again. Not to mention, I really needed to clear my head so I could work on that paper for my Ethics and Values class.

So I grab my phone and I head out the door. I headed north, like I usually do on my walks. As I rounded the corner, I noticed a little blond boy playing in front of a house across the street but didn't think much of it because I figured that those neighbors most likely had some grandkids over.

Suddenly, I hear a panting and pattering behind me and I turn around to see this half-grown pup pitbull running up behind me! Scared me half to death! But like I said, he was just a grown up puppy and he was just having some fun. He proceeded to sniff around me and circle my legs as I tried to keep walking over the bridge. The dog had a collar and I tried looking around to see who he may belong to, but I couldn't really see anybody that looked like they may be missing a dog.

I turned around again and there was that little boy running to catch up with us. He looked to be about 4 years old and held a Capri Sun in his hand. He was calling after the dog, so I figured those two belonged together. The only thing was, that dog kept running up ahead of us and kept running away at the last second.

"Is that your doggy?" I asked the little boy.

"Yep!" he replied.

"What's his name?"

"Fireman!" he again replied, or at least that's what I thought he said. Turns out the dog's name was Bear.

So I sort of helped him chase after the dog, but I figured the dog wouldn't be going too far and the little boy would be smart enough to not stray too far from home, or grandma's, or wherever, so I mostly walked behind a short distance and watched the boy ahead of me.

Not too far ahead, however, was a fairly busy road and Bear was getting close to crossing it. I thought, once again, that this boy would be smart enough to at least not go out into the road after the dog, but boy was I wrong! He stepped out without a second thought and thank goodness the driver saw him in time! He stopped and patiently waited for the boy to go back to the sidewalk. I also thought the boy would go back to the sidewalk, but no. The only thing on his mind was getting Bear back. So I hastily ran out into the road and grabbed him and pulled him back to the sidewalk, letting the car pass and the dog go to the other side of the road. Note as I pull the boy back that there was a lady in a gray shirt and someone else pushing a stroller on the other side of the road. It sounded like they were calling out to the boy, but I figured they were doing what I was doing - trying to get that boy out of the road - and didn't really know who he was.

I grabbed that little boy's hand and told him that roads and cars were dangerous and to not go out into the road by himself. He was really good to follow me back down the sidewalk. I decided at this point that we needed to abandon Bear and get this boy back to his parents, or wherever he came from.

I am really glad at this point that he is not mortally afraid of strangers. Well, after running out after a dog like that, I'm pretty sure this little boy wasn't afraid of anything. I struggled a little bit to get him back down the sidewalk the way we came, because sometimes he would burst out and try to cross the street again. I had to tell him that Bear will come home and that right now, we had to find his parents. Along the way, he found a cat and picked him up and carried him half the way with us. This boy sure loves animals.

So we approach the house where I thought he was, all the while with me asking questions like where do you live? Where were you coming from? (Grandma'.) Who is Grandma? Is it the Davenport's? (Yes.) But when we got to the Davenport's where I had first seen him playing, he said that wasn't it and kept on walking.

At this point, I was really starting to get worried because if that wasn't his grandma's house, then who did this boy belong to?? So I asked him his name (Wyatt) and we kept on walking, each time asking him Is this your house? (No.) Is that your car? (No.) Is your house across the street? (No.)

I was starting to get frustrated. I didn't know what to do. Finally, we approached the mortuary on the corner of 200S and 200E and saw some people outside. He pointed across the street and said, "Dad!" This made me so happy, so I made him keep holding my hand (which he gladly did, thank goodness) and we crossed the street together to go to the people at the mortuary. But I was confused. The people standing around weren't shouting relief and racing up to hug him! How could parents be so inconsiderate? Wyatt also insisted that we circle around every tree and walk on the roots above the ground. Why didn't he want to go to his parents? Suddenly, a man pushing a double stroller who was crossing the street ran up the sidewalk and yelled, "Wyatt!!" Oh, what a blessed sound!

Of course, Dad was very angry and put Wyatt straightway into the stroller. He also scolded Wyatt for letting Bear go. I told him I found Wyatt trying to cross the street and kept him back from getting hit by any cars. I also pointed the direction in which I believed the dog to be. His wife was driving a black Ford and he yelled to her which direction to go. He then thanked me and went on his way.

So, how do I feel about all this? Well, I realized early on in this adventure that I needed to go on that walk for a reason. I mean, there was backup in case I decided to ignore the prompting I felt (remember those people across the street with the stroller?), but I felt that I needed to go on this "walk" to save this little boy from any harm and return him to his parents. How amazing is that? To know that I helped out?

Something else amazing was that I wasn't scared or nervous about dealing with a little child. I am in Primary, but I still am not very good with talking to little kids. However, I felt very confident this whole time, and I think that it is because I have my 4 year old niece and nephew that I am very familiar with. What a hidden blessing that was with the Lord preparing me for this small moment.

I also believe it was a blessing from the Holy Ghost guiding me along in the right direction. Out of all the directions we could have headed, we headed back towards his parents. It's a big city out there. His parents could have been anywhere.

Did I do the right thing? I think so. Could the cars that passed or the people across the street with the stroller happen to be his parents following him at a safe distance while he chased the dog? The thought definitely crossed my mind, but they cannot blame a stranger for pulling a 4 year old out of the road and asking where his parents were. I don't think that was them across the street. I think I did the right thing, and I think the Lord prepared me for this very moment. It may not seem big to me, but I am sure his parents were sure grateful for my help. Or I at least hope so.

Anyways. I felt good about that. =)