One day on a recent run...

I was attempting to carry too much. Toby has become a good little running buddy for the most part (he used to bounce around in front of us, thinking that running was only for playing, not for exercising). So, I had his leash, a "just in case" bag for any stops Toby might need to make, and a house key. No pockets to put any of these things in. There came a point in my run when I realized something was missing. I checked my hands -- the house key that had been tucked into my palm was missing. I had no idea where I had dropped it. And, of course, this was the one day that I decided NOT to take my cell phone with me, as I already had enough things to keep track of. So, calling Drew (who works about 30 or 40 minutes away from home most days) wasn't much of an option. I knew I had locked all of the doors before leaving. And, any of the neighbors that we've met so far work, so I knew they wouldn't be home for me to ask to use their phone, nevermind that I was completely sweaty, gross, and had my still ridiculously energetic lab with me. Not exactly the state that you want to go ring a near-stranger's doorbell in. So, I just prayed -- Lord, please help me find my key so that I can get back into my house, without this being a difficult situation. I backtracked my steps very, very slowly, looking for a shiny little key anywhere on the pavement where I ran. As I walked, I remembered a stop Toby made for a little #1 break. I went back to that area, and sure enough, on some mossy ground under the tree that he blessed with his approval, I saw my house key. Ah, thank you Lord. I felt like the lady who had searched her house for the coin -- though, I'm sure it took me a quite a bit less time to find my key than it took for her to find her coin, but I was still incredibly excited.