Bark! Bark! Bark!

I recently spent the night at my nephews house. I got in late and exhausted, we talked for awhile, and I then asked what time they left in the morning for work; which was earlier than I cared to start my day, so we said our goodbyes and turned in. I never heard them leave, but I was awakened within a few minutes of their stated departure time by their yellow Labrador named Fuji, as she apparently was standing at the front door barking her displeasure about being left behind. I figured she would stop, but she didn't; she just kept barking. As I turned over in my final attempt to go back to sleep, I cleared my throat, and suddenly she stopped barking. I could hear her thinking, "What was that?" "That was a human sound, I'm not alone after all." "Where did that come from?". I heard begin to search, and true to her heritage, she soon located me in the back bedroom of the basement. There, at my bedroom door, Fuji now stood whimpering, begging to be let in. I had to laugh and go and let her in, which resulted in fusillade of licks and thumps by her club of a tail.

I love learning from dogs about spiritual matters, so it wasn't long before God started showing me this lesson from Fuji. She found herself all alone, left behind and she didn't like it. I wondered if she would of barked all day. It was like she was saying, "What about me? Don't forget me, don't leave me behind!" And once she realized she wasn't alone, she came looking. And when she found me, she showed her appreciation as only a dog can do. In fact she didn't leave my side the rest of the morning until I left.
What do we do when we sense the absence of God's presence in our lives? Do we cry out continually, "Don't forget about me, don't leave me behind?" And then once we realize we're no longer alone, do we search Him out and beg to be in His Presence? And then when we do come before Him, how do we respond? Is it with constant affection and a staying close to His side, walking in His shadow and following in His steps? Maybe there's a lesson we all can learn from Fuji, and apply the next time we feel like we're missing out spiritually.
PJ