Christian Short Stories
Miss Molly

MISS MOLLY
By Cheryl Hoyle

Cheryl's husband writes: "This story was written by my wife on a recent trip home. I have submitted it without her knowledge, due to the fact she doesn't think it's a good story. She may not be a great writer but I can tell you that you will never find a more loving person to animals." (Aaah, how amazing is that!)

Last week, as I was returning home from KY. I came upon a dog on the interstate. What caught my attention was that she was in the MIDDLE of the road, refusing to move, as people were blowing their horn & swerving to miss her.

God spoke to me and told me to get that dog. It was cold and rainy... plus she was on the OTHER side (heading west). I was east-bound.

"Let's see... is this really You, God, telling me to do this?" was my immediate reaction. Yes, it was Him. "Ok, if it's REALLY You, then let an exit come up soon and then I'll go get her. 5 seconds later: "Olive Hill Exit 1 mile.

ME: "Ok, I get the message, but You know she probably won't even be alive when I reach her."

GOD: "Just go get her. I'm trying to show you something. If you obey Me, I will take care of everything. You don't need to worry."

I'm now heading back down the opposite side of I-64, thinking of the time I'm wasting. Where is she? I search and search... "You see God, I told you she'd be dead... oops, there she is! She's still in the middle of the road."

I stop the vehicle, get out just in time to see a car barely miss her. I scream at her. She runs to me, but stops first to grab an entire leg of what appears to be a wild turkey that's been hit by a car. She stands in front of me, eating the leg... the WHOLE leg... bones, claw, EVERYTHING! She scarves it down as quickly as she can.

She looks to have been nursing pups recently, so I look to see if there are any nearby, but can't find any. She keeps running back out in the road to get the rest of her "meal". I entice her back to me with some cheese crackers and almonds (yes, she even ate almonds!), while truck drivers are blowing their horn, trying to warn other truckers of what's ahead. (A crazy lady... in the interstate, with a starving dog!) :)

At that point, I refuse to believe that God is going to allow her to die before my eyes, so I got her to come to me again and reached out and quickly grabbed her and put her in my vehicle. I drove down to the next exit and stopped at a little store. I bought her some dog food and a pkg. of hot dogs.

The lady at the store didn't seem too keen on the idea of me leaving her there, where she was safer. So, I put her back in the Jeep and took off. I tried 3 animal shelters in the area before I finally found one willing to take her. It was in Charleston, WV... nearly 70 miles away!

She was shivering from being wet and cold (and so thin you could see her ribs)... so I turned the heat up and she fell asleep. She woke up before I got there and was still hungry, but when I told her to lay down, she obeyed. I stroked her head and talked to her until we got there. I named her Miss Molly, because as I told her... she was a good dog and deserved a name. She was such a sweetheart!

I put my hands on her and prayed for her, reminding God that He was the one that told me to go get her, and asking Him to take care of her.

I went inside the shelter and checked in. Then a man came outside with me & put her on a nice, soft leash and started leading her inside. She turned & looked back at me... then walked over to me and put her head on my leg. I knew she was thanking me, so I bent over and kissed her on the head.

As I got more information at the front desk, I found out that they were NOT a no-kill shelter. The lady said they would give her 5 days to try and find the owner, but after that, there was no guarantee.

I went back to the vehicle and my face fell in my hands. "But God, why would you let me bring her here? I thought you wanted me to save her, and now she is probably going to die anyway."

I got on my cell phone and tried desperately to find someone else willing to take her, but couldn't. I left, somewhat bewildered about the situation, but also knowing God must have a plan. After I got home that night, I decided to post an ad on Craigslist in the Charleston area, trying to find someone who was willing to take her. As I said in the ad, I knew it was a long shot, but I wanted to at least try.

The very next morning I had an e-mail from a wonderful lady near Charleston. She wanted to adopt Miss Molly. I couldn't believe it! I kept asking her, "Are you sure? You know she is dirty, smelly, starving... and she's just a mutt." No, she wanted to adopt her. I called the shelter and they worked it out where she could come and claim her as the dog's owner, so as to avoid her having to pay the adoption fee.

"Connie" adopted Miss Molly this past Sunday. She absolutely loves her, and wrote to let me know that she is keeping her name as Miss Molly. She is keeping me updated on her progress and says she will send me some pictures as soon as she puts on some weight.

We are keeping in touch and I plan on helping her out as I can with getting Miss Molly back on her feet. God gave me a mission: to save the life a dog. He used that to teach me (during a very uncertain time in my life) to trust Him. He told me if I only obeyed Him, He would take care of the rest. I figure if He can be that faithful to Miss Molly... then surely He will be at least that faithful to me!

Thank you God, for placing Miss Molly in my life at just the right time...for her...and for me!

(© 2009 Cheryl Hoyle – All rights reserved. Written material may not be duplicated without permission.)

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