What About the Next Time?

 

Our Bichon pup is nearly eight months old. Frenchie has many cute traits, but separation anxiety is not one of them. Nancy and I can’t leave the house for more than a few moments before he begins barking and shrieking at the top of his lungs.

Among the several things we are doing to help him overcome his anxiety, I often take him on local shopping trips and leave him locked safely in the car while I run into the store for the few items I need. Each time I close the door behind me I tell him, “It’s okay, Frenchie. I’ll be right back.”

That doesn’t help.

When I return with my bags a few minutes later, Frenchie is still barking and shrieking in the car.

Last week I needed to make three stops. And each time I closed the door I told him the same thing: “It’s okay, Frenchie. I’ll be back soon.” And each time I returned to the car, there he was, was barking and screeching.

As I slipped the seat belt around my shoulder after the last trip, I said to Frenchie: “See? Didn’t I tell you I’d be back?” He looked up at me and I could almost hear him respond, “Yeah, but what about the next time?”

And immediately, the Holy Spirit connected the dots.

Has not Jesus promised, “I am with you always, even to the end of the age”? Has He not promised, “I will never leave you or forsake you”?

It would take much longer than you’d want to read about how often the Lord has calmed the winds and the waves as they swept over my life. And oh! Some of them were howling gales.

How often did He calm them? Every time.

So then why is it that when I face new winds and waves that I so often forget how often the Lord was there for me in the past? Why is it that I so often think to myself: “Yeah, but what about next time”?

Yeah. But what about next time?

Lord, I really am sorry.