The next morning I woke up to an empty house. I saw my Mom's note on the counter.
Eric,
I have to work until 6 pm tonight but I would like to take you out to dinner tonight. You can choose the restaurant. Also, can you please take the dog for a walk? It would do you both good to get some fresh air and exercise. Call me if you need me.
Love, Mom XOXO
"Oh yeah," I thought to myself, "Like she has any idea what I need. I'm not planning on walking any farther than the tv or computer today."
An hour later Scruffy was barking insistently at the back door. "Alright, alright already can you please just stop barking, you're giving me a headache." I threw on my coat and hooked Scruffy up to his leash. The second I opened the door he took off running after some squirrel. I tried to keep up with him, but he was fast-a lot faster than I remembered. I was running as fast as I could when my foot tripped over an the exposed tree root. I felt my body fly forward and then smack! I fell hard on my stomach and then slid into another tree. Of course I let go of the leash as I pounded into the ground. "Yep, this is definitely what I needed today. Stupid dog! Scruffy where are you?" I brushed the dirt off my clothes as I stood up. Besides some scrapes on my hands and forearms there was no real damage. I'm sure the bruises would be showing up later.
I looked in each direction for Scruffy. I had no idea which way he went. I figured it made the most sense to continue going in the same direction as I was running before the fall. "Well this is a great way to start off my vacation," I mumbled to myself. This was making my headache hurt even more. I needed to find that dog and get me some Motrin. The back of our property was filled with trees and butted up to our neighbors who owned several acres. When I was a kid I loved playing back here and building forts. It was awesome. But right now I was not in the mood for an adventure and this was not fun. A good twenty minutes of walking through my yard and into my neighbors went by before I finally heard the jingle of Scruffy's dog tag. I ran towards the noise calling out his name. As I came around a large oak tree I saw Scruffy just sitting there next to some stranger wearing what looked like a brown friar outfit.
"Does this cute dog belong to you?" the man asked.
"Yes, I've been looking for him. I tripped and fell and he kept running. So much for being man's best friend, he didn't even stick around to see if I was okay."
"Hmm... looks like you hit your head pretty good. Are you feeling okay?"
"What? I did?"
"You've got a nice goose egg on your forehead. You better sit down for a minute. I'm Father Jerry, by the way. I'm visiting my brother Charles this Christmas."
"Oh, I never knew Mr. Decker had a priest brother."
"Well I'm a Franciscan father. I've spent the last ten years running a soup kitchen in Philadelphia. The order decided to reward me with a little time off this year to visit with my brother. You probably know he's had a rough year."
"Um, no I didn't. I've been away at college. What's wrong with Mr. Decker?"
"He's fighting lung cancer. They found a spot on his lung this past summer and removed part of his lung. The doctors think they got it before it spread, but the surgery left him pretty weak and he's had some complications.....it's left him pretty depressed. Shirley has been running herself ragged trying to care for him by herself. Now she started to have some health issues, so they asked if I could come help out."
"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. I had no idea."
"Well I was just taking a walk and saying my morning prayers when this cute little guy just walked right up to me dragging his leash behind him." Father Jerry bent down to pet Scruffy. Scruffy thought this would be the perfect time to lick Father Jerry's face and look adorable.
"Scruffy is pretty cute when he's not determined to catch a squirrel. Thank you for grabbing his leash for me."
"No problem. I better walk you home and help you get some ice on that bump."
"Oh, you don't have to do that. I'll be fine. I don't want to interrupt your umm...prayer walk."
"Don't worry about it. I pray all day long and I wouldn't be able to focus on my prayers if I was worried that you didn't make it home."
"Not to sound disrespectful, but do you really pray all day? How could you memorize that many prayers?'
Father Jerry started laughing. "Praying isn't just about memorizing words. I mean sure I have some favorite prayers that I like to say, but mostly I just like putting myself in the Presence of the Lord and talking to Him."
"Don't you run out of things to say?"
"Nope. God absolutely fascinates me. Every day I learn something new about Him."
"You mean you don't know everything about Him yet?"
Father Jerry chuckled again. "Well either I look much wiser than I am, or you must have hit your head even harder than I thought. Do you really think anyone knows all there is to know about God?"
"I don't know. I mean I never really thought about it. To be perfectly honest, I don't really pray much. I think it's boring. I mean what's the point? It's not like you're going to hear any answers. Don't get me wrong. I believe in God and I try to be a good person, but I just don't think praying is going to make a difference-at least not for me. I mean I've watched my Mom pray her whole life and it doesn't seem to help her any. Her life is no bed of roses."
"Well praying and putting your trust in God doesn't mean all your problems are going to disappear. Does your mom ever pray for you?"
"Of course."
"Well maybe I am the answer to one of her prayers today."
"What do you mean?"
"Seems to me that if I hadn't run across your dog's path, you could have been looking for him for awhile and not even realize you had a head injury. I can't say for sure, but it's possible your mom prayed for your safety, and hear I am making sure you get home safe."
I thought about this for a minute or two as we walked. My head was starting to throb more as we continued to walk home and I was glad I wasn't chasing Scruffy anymore. Oddly, I felt comfortable talking with Father Jerry and I had no idea why. We were almost at my house when I started to feel a little queasy. I started praying I wouldn't get sick before I got home. Hmm....praying...that's something I hadn't done in awhile. This morning seemed to be filled with surprises. As we approached my back door, I bent down to unhook Scruffy's leash from his collar when suddenly everything went black.
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