Hebrews 11:1 ~ Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.
My life is a daily surprise, I may begin each day with a prayer and a plan, however, the only certainty is that I will pray, and that the plan will change. My crofter neighbour on the hill where I dwell often tells me that the beauty of not making plans is that one never knows when they go awry!! He is right.
The other morning, I sat in my highland snug and after chatting with God for a while, I decided to take my two Labradors for a journey down to the loch where we could all go for a swim and have some fun. The dogs were extremely excited when they realised where we were going. One of them, Brodie the younger, sings in the car, howling with the joyful expectation of what is to come, whilst the other one, Reuban the elder, sits patiently and hopefully that he may, just for once, be able to run faster than Brodie and get to the water first.
He always tries and always fails.
We arrived at our usual deserted parking place and the dogs got out of the car and ran speedily toward the jetty where I usually stand and throw a ball into the water, the dogs leapt off the platform and splashed into the dark coldness, making yips of delight as they doggy paddled to retrieve the prize, the orange ball; I had not actually thrown it yet but I could see that Brodie had one in his mouth.
I became aware of another noise alongside the happy howls of the dogs, it was a gurgling soft moaning, followed by guttural coughing and a few naughty words!!! Unbeknown to me, Brodie, and Reuban, a person was in a kayak at the bottom of the jetty, just out of sight. When Brodie had leapt off the jetty, he had just missed landing on the poor person who was trying to climb out of the kayak and onto the platform.
Well, what Brodie missed Reuban accomplished with gusto. SLAP on top of the man and the boat, capsizing the lot and dislodging the persons bobble hat as he did so. Now how was Brodie to distinguish between an orange pom pom and an orange ball? It was not his fault that his eagerness to retrieve the ball and bring it to me, meant that he was also bringing a
person who was attached with a strap to the hat and the pom pom. I tried helping the poor soul out of the water but ended up falling in and sinking the kayak with the provisions and clothing it had been carrying.
Many more words were exchanged as the dogs tried to join in this fun game of splashing and shouting.
Reuban played fetch with the paddle and Brodie continued doggy paddling to shore with the bobble hat in his mouth, as the thick wool thread unravelled behind him.
The kayaker and I finally saw the funny side of this adventure and, as he had lost his breakfast to the depths of the loch, I invited him to the croft where my husband cooked us both a hearty feast. It transpired that the kayaker had only just moved to the strath and was feeling isolated, he said ‘I was hoping to encounter some locals today.’ He certainly got his hope fulfilled, and my own plans to go for a swim and have some fun were to an extent fulfilled too.
I know that God goes ahead of us all and that God hears our prayers, our hopes, and dreams. God alone knows our future and how it will play out, and although our days may not be quite what we expect sometimes, one can often look back and see God helping us out.
Have a blessed summer, and, if you see two large Labradors running at speed with a vicar in tow, step aside, smile and wave, as we will be heading on to another adventure.

God bless you
Lesley-ann