Seventeen
God Is as Close to You as Your Skin

The Presidio of San Francisco offers a vast area of recreation that is extraordinarily beautiful. Its expansive walking path lined with sand dunes stretches seemingly forever along the many views of the bay, which glistens as it rolls out to meet the gray-blue skyline. Sparkling boats with water skiers following and extraordinary ships in the distance paint a picture that cannot be captured in one visit.

On this particular morning, I was taking my five-year-olds, Matty and Evan, for a long walk. It would be a family memory I would hold in my heart forever. They were so happy, pointing out the boats off in the distance and kicking the sand in the path with the toes of their shoes. As they darted back and forth, their glee was almost out of control.

Devoid of people for the most part, the area was splendid in its cleanliness and the pristine way its wooden benches and fauna emerged when one needed them. The one aspect of this trip that made me nervous was people who brought their dogs for a walk and thought it an appropriate place to unleash them.

As a young professor in my thirties and forties, I had walked this pathway a hundred times and enjoyed the scenery with no concern about the animals I saw. But now at age fifty-two, I moved slower and had my twin boys with me. Those dogs seemed much more treacherous because some of them were so much bigger than the twins were.

As the boys circled around me, running at breakneck speed and tumbling in the sand, I warned them repeatedly to stay within my sight. Suddenly, there appeared a dog that caught my attention because of his great size. I wondered whether it was a Great Dane or an Irish Wolfhound but decided on Great Dane because of its short brown hair. I felt my heart start beating rapidly. As I got closer, I saw the dog was even larger than I imagined. He was the size of a small pony.

“Matty, Evan,” I called out loud. I wanted to get them and get away as quickly as possible. I wanted to feel their little hands in my hands. All of a sudden, Evan was skipping toward the dog with his right hand up to greet it. I screamed at him, “Evan, stop!” Then I heard the voice of the owner coming from my right side saying, “Lady, stop. Tell your son to stop. Dante has been trained to hunt and destroy. Be careful. Don’t move. Stay absolutely still.”

What did he mean by that? I had to get my son Evan.

“Lady, grab your other son by the hand and put your hands at your sides and don’t move.”

I saw the man inching toward the dog, giving him hand signals and speaking in a quiet voice. I could hear the dog growl and bark with a loud, deep bark. His bark frightened Evan, and he began to scream and cry. “Lady,” the man said to me calmly, “he should not show fear to that dog. Listen to me, please. This is an emergency.”

I couldn’t think what to do next. I wondered why the owner did not command the dog to come to him. I was feeling a sense of panic with tears falling down my face. Matthew was feeling panic and whimpering while holding my hand tightly. I pondered what to do next, and I thought back to the first weeks I had gotten them—now almost a year ago. I had enrolled them in Sunday school, and we had done morning readings. We had talked daily about how strong and powerful Jesus is and how He is here now. I thought about the statement that my grandmother had constantly repeated when I was a child growing up. “God is as close to you as your skin, you have but to call out and He will answer, you have but to ask and He will help you.”

I realized right away I could not spread my panic to either one of the boys. I swallowed my fear and began speaking in a very low voice. I said to Evan, “Do you see Jesus? He’s right there beside you, son. See the beautiful waves and the sun on the flowers? Jesus must be right there. That is His beauty, His ocean, His sky. Oh, Evan, aren’t we lucky? Jesus is taking a walk with us.”

I paused to lower my voice even one more notch. I wanted him to stop his panicked outcry to me and to remain still and calm even as the dog owner told him, “Be still and put your hands at your side.” He was whimpering, his little, wrinkled face reflecting his fear.

I couldn’t think of anything to do next. I choked down more panic and tears as I said to him, “Jesus likes the dog. See Him smiling? Everything is going to be okay.”

He took a breath and looked around. “Where, Mama?”

“He’s right there beside you. Remember, I told you He brought you and me together, and He will always be with us.”

“But, Mom!”

“No, Evan, look at the doggie. Isn’t he beautiful? Don’t pet him now, just stand with Jesus and look at him.”

“He’s here?”

“Yes, Evan, He’s there.”

“Mom, Mom, you come now.”

“No, give me a moment, but stop crying and show Jesus how brave you are and how much you are enjoying His visit.”

Matthew stopped crying and looked up at me questioning. “Jesus came on the walk too? Do we have enough lunch for Him?”

“Jesus always has lunch. Remember the fishes and the loaves of bread? We are all okay.”

Evan began to fret again. “Mom, come. Why can’t I come to you?”

Between my son and that big dog there were mounds of sand. They were about twenty feet apart with smaller mounds between them. The owner was about twenty feet away to the left. Other people were beginning to gather around, talking of calling the police. Some of them had seen the dog previously and said he was a real danger.

Suddenly, as I said aloud, “God in heaven, show me what to do next,” one of the mounds of sand began to move. My eyes were riveted to the sight. It was a man, a bum with dirty clothes, a grungy face, and a beard. First he stretched, then he stood up, walked over to the dog, grabbed his collar, and walked him over to his owner where he said, “Man, you should do a better job handling your dog.” Then he turned and called out to me, “Lady, get your boy. This is one place where you have to keep him close to you because there are some vicious dogs out here.”

“Oh, my Lord, thank You so much.” I rushed over to Evan and picked him up and hugged him tight. Then I said to the man, “Thank you so much. What can I do for you? Can I give you cash for lunch or the lunch I have in this bag?”

He said, “No, Lady, no, no. The Lord Jesus provides everything I need every day. I just need a nap.” Turning to the crowd that had gathered, he said, “The show’s over.” The crowd started to disperse.

For a long moment, I stood still and thought, Jesus came with us on this walk, and it is really important for my children to know that Jesus is always with them, just like Grandma said.

I knew my boys would have to learn what Grandma had taught me, which is to walk by faith and not by sight alone. This experience was the first step in teaching them that no matter what threatening evidence appears to be true, we need not fear because God is always beside us.