After the miracle of the fish and bread, the crowd didn’t leave right away—even though Jesus told them to. Maybe it was because of the free food, but I think they also wanted to keep him around, to do more “tricks” for them. This had happened before, people wanting to make Jesus be their personal pack leader, and I knew what he would do.
“Peter, James and John, go down to the lake, and take Buck along. I’ll catch up with everyone later.” Jesus turned around and started trekking up the mountain, alone. I knew what he was doing; it was time to talk with his dad. Somewhere, along the way, I found out his father’s name: it’s God. I’ve never caught his scent or seen him, but Jesus talks to him like he’s right there. His other best friend, John told me it’s called praying.
Part of the huge pack of people followed us down to the water. Jesus’ special friends decided to get back into the boat and row away. Of course, I was coming too. “Oh no you don’t!” said Peter, stepping in front of me. “The master said to take you down to the lake with us, not in the boat. I remember what happened last time you came along.” He was talking about when we got caught in a big storm—the one that Jesus stopped—but that wasn’t my fault. “Oh, well,” I whimpered, walking away with my tail down low.
Most of the crowd walked away too, because the sun was fading fast, but some—the ones who came in boats—shoved off and followed Peter and the others. Frankly, I was one miserable pup; a dog without a pack is a pitiful picture. I sat down near the water, my chin resting between my two front paws. “What are you going to do now, Buck? They left you behind.”
But then it came to me, like a juicy bone out of nowhere: “I can follow Jesus’ scent up the mountain and find him!” He had a faint woody aroma, like an olive tree after it rains. But it wasn’t too faded for old Buck to follow, and that’s just what I did—all the way up the mountain to Jesus! It was nighttime, but the moon was round and bright in the sky. I found him praying under an olive tree at a spot where you can almost see the whole lake.
“I know, Buck, Peter wouldn’t let you on the boat,” he said, scratching behind both ears. “He’s rough around the edges but loves with his whole heart, just like you!” I noticed there was only a calm breeze up on the mountain, but the wind was making big waves on the lake. I could see several boats, out in the middle, moving up and down in the moonlight.
“Let’s go, Buck: back down to the water!” Jesus said, matter-of-factly. That sounded good to me. I love the water! Once we were lakeside, my best friend picked up a big stick. “Oh boy! Oh boy!” I yelped, standing up on my back feet. “Let’s play fetch!” Sure enough, Jesus threw the stick along the shore—close to where big waves were rolling in. But that didn’t stop me! I found it and brought it back to him again and again, splashing through the foam like a frisky puppy.
“Let’s go find our friends,” he said, looking out toward the middle of the lake. “What?!” I whined. “These waves are taller than I am, and the wind is blowing hard. We can’t swim that far.”
“I know, Buck,” Jesus said with smiling eyes. “We can walk out to them.” And, with that, he headed into the spray. I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me because it looked like…no, it couldn’t be… Jesus was walking on top of the waves!
“Come on, boy. You can do it!” he shouted from the churning surf. But I couldn’t, folks. All Buck did was bark, over and over, and run back and forth on the beach. I was too scared to jump into the crashing water.
“Okay, okay.” he said, coming back toward me. “Good, he changed his mind,” I supposed. “No, I didn’t change my mind, Buck. We are going to find our friends and that means you’re coming too.” And then, Jesus did something he’d never done before: He picked me up!
To be continued…
This piece of historical fiction (the dog part, not the miracle) is dedicated to the memory of the real Buck: a chocolate lab who was a gun dog par excellence. That’s him below, sitting in a duck blind watching his owner for the next command. It was his intense gaze (in the photo) that sparked this story. May each of us look to God with the same level of devotion.
Look to the Lord and His strength. Seek His face always.Psalm 105:4
*The story of Jesus walking on water is found in Matthew 14:22-33; Mark 6:45-52; and John 6: 16-21.
A special thanks to Beth Alisan, from lessonsfromalab, for helping make this story possible. Here’s a link to her post about Buck: A Moment With Our Creator: Psalm 105:4
Thank you for reading. 🙏❤️ prayers and love.
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