Sabbath afternoons are always a great time to get out and enjoy God's creation with fresh air and exercise, so a few Sabbaths ago after a delicious lunch, Paul and I decided to hike on the Appalachian Trail while Ali napped. Tinka is an avid trail speedwalker and when we asked "Do you want to go for a walk?" she went through her usual routine of perked eared prancing anticipation. It takes a certain amount of agility to get her harness on, but when it was all done, we were off!It's hunting season right now, so there was plenty of evidence of hunters having been on the trail. Tinka found it very interesting. I thought it was disgusting. We were chugging along with Tinka pulling on her leash like a sled dog, when she suddenly stopped and wouldn't go any farther. I came in front of her and pulled on the leash and encouraged her to move along, but I was only able to get her to go another twenty feet. She stopped again and this time she wouldn't budge. Toying with the idea of picking her up and carrying her the remaining one hundred yards to our destination, I turned to Paul and said that she had never done this before. He responded by recalling the story of Balaam's donkey. We decided to take the cue and I lightened up on her leash. She immediately did a 180 and took off, back down the trail.
We still have no idea what made her stop, but we thank the Lord that, whatever the reason, Tinka was able to see.
