I practically gasped. The same
message my mother had told me—
down to the very words!
After someone at my office said
the exact same thing on Monday,
0^HZYLLSPUN;OYLLKPќLYLU[WLVWSL
One message. I called Gus from
work and told him that I wanted to
start fostering children. He agreed.
LZPNULK\WMVYJLY[PÄJH[PVUJSHZZ
es the same day.
Five weeks passed. Then, the
night before we were due to com-
plete our training to become fos-
ter parents, our doorbell rang. Gus
answered. I heard some muffled
conversation, then: “Anna!”
I hurried to the door. Two women
were standing there—they recog-
nized us from around the neighbor-
hood. And in Gus’s arms was a
small, gray bundle. Though her hair
was shorter and dirtier, and the fur
on her ears and tail had been dyed
pink, I’d know that sweet little face
anywhere.
“Teddy!” I cried, scooping her
into my arms.
The women explained that they’d
found Teddy a few blocks away and
recognized her from the posters.
;LKKKLÄUP[LSULLKLKZVTL;3*
but after being bathed and fed and
getting a quick checkup at the vet,
her tail started wagging. By the time
we all went to bed, she was back
[VOLYVSKZLSM(Z0KYPM[LKVќ[VZSLLW
that night, I said a prayer of thanks.
Deep down, I had already begun to
fear we would never get our little
Teddy back.
That night, something became
crystal clear—I didn’t need to wor-
ry about us becoming parents.
Raising Teddy had brought us closer
as a couple. And we had so much
love for this little dog and still more
to give. If anything, our time as par-
ents of a fur baby had shown us how
ready we were to become parents.
Was that the lesson God wanted
us to learn?
It’s been a little over three years
since then. Gus and I adopted
two wonderful children, who have
brought more joy to our lives than
I ever could have imagined. Journey,
who’s now three years old, came
to us just a few months after Teddy
returned home. Recently, he was
joined by a little sister, one-year-old
Destiny.
Teddy has taken surprisingly well
to her role as “big sister.” At 10 years
old, she might be a little slower than
she once was, but when the kids
take out a toy to play fetch, she be-
comes a puppy again. Seeing all
three of them playing in our yard, I
can’t help but think—if Teddy hadn’t
gone missing when she did, Gus
and I would’ve continued as we al-
ways had, unaware of the incredible
happiness awaiting us. I believe
IYPLÅ`SVZPUN;LKK`OLSWLK\ZÄUK
the rest of our family.Teddy and her adoring family
Read about another pooch’s perfectly timed arrival at Guideposts.org/SpecialDelivery