Chapter 10
Dingo had recognised the dying man as the deserter. "Why would he carve himself like that?" thought Dingo. "Perhaps ozE was right and he was mad..." Moments later the room was filled with a brilliant light and Dingo knew he was no longer alone. Somehow he knew he would never be alone again, and he recognised the source of the light. It was the deserter... but this time Dingo recognised him for who he really was... God himself. "I have a job for you, Dingo. I have chosen you. I have seen your heart. You desire to do what is right but have been powerless. Believe in me. Trust and obey me. I will be your strength. All is well." With this, God breathed on Dingo and disappeared from view, but in his heart Dingo knew that He would be with him always. Deep love and gratitude welled up within Dingo for the privilege of having such an experience, and he looked up at the crucifix. To his astonishment there was no longer a man on the cross. It was still a cross hanging on the wall, but the man was no longer nailed to it. What did it mean? Suddenly a rushing wind blew through the workshop sending tools flying through the air. Dingo ducked and then yelped as he saw fire blazing around him momentarily! "Oh no!" he thought. "it was too good to be true. I should have known no dingo could see God and live!"
It was then that Dingo first experienced the joy of hearing his God speak to him from within his own heart. "I am not dead, Dingo. I am alive! I am the resurrrection and the life. Everyone who believes in me will live even though he dies..." Dingo was beside himself with excitement! God was in him! How could this be!? He was just a dingo... in fact he was a very ordinary dingo... how could he contain the God who created the universe? But there was no denying the fact that God had spoken to him from within his own heart... nothing was surer. Perhaps he was dead! That must be it - how else could this be happening to him. Tears were pouring down his jowls as he experienced the joy of salvation, and that was when ozEkoala walked in and saw him crying. As he finished telling ozEkoala all that had happened, another amazing miracle occurred. ozEkoala's began to pray to God in perfect 'dingo-lingo'. Dingo was amazed! All the animals spoke a common language for convenience, but each had a 'lingo' all their own, unknown to an animal of a different type. Suddenly Dingo found he was praying in a lingo that was not his own, but that he had heard before - it was Taswegian, he was sure of it - Tassie's language... At that very moment, Tassie was approaching Dingo's workshop door. He had come to see if he could entice Dingo back into his old ways. He needed a mate and had been very lonely since he got out of prison and returned to the district. He'd heard that Dingo was a changed animal since he'd last seen him, but nothing prepared him for what he now saw and heard. Dingo was howling in Taswegian, and doing a very good job of it too. But the meaning of the howl was strange to Tassie's ears. All he'd ever heard spoken in that language were negative words - criticisms, lies, hurtful things. Dingo had transformed the language into something strangely beautiful. What was happening. Tassie never said something was beautiful! Never!! He'd better get out of here. "Run!", he told himself, "Run!" But his legs wouldn't obey and, instead, drew him further toward the door. ozEkoala and Dingo saw Tassie at the same moment and squealed with delight. "Tassie!! Mate!! Come in!!" Tassie was overwhelmed to be welcomed in this way. How could they be so happy to see him after all that had happened? He was a jail-bird. No-one wanted to know him anymore. But here were his old friends still treating him with love and respect... Tassie started to cry, despite himself. Dingo was momentarily embarrassed, but ozEkoala hugged Tassie, and Tassie hugged her back, and cried some more, so Dingo joined in! Tassie had never known love, and in his heart a wall cracked open and all his pain poured out in that moment of acceptance. In the place of the pain there was a new sensation - hope took root, and it wasn't many months later that Tassie had a similar experience to his two friends and met his God for the first time. No-one was more surprised than Tassie himself! And so it was that ozEkoala's dream came true. The three of them worked together side by side, happily expressing their God-given talents in creative and productive ways. Dingo discovered a talent for wood-carving that he never even suspected he had, and began to make breathtakingly beautiful carvings. Tassie took a while to find his niche but eventually discovered he had a talent for internet technology. He never looked back. Thanks to Tassie's genius for promotion, ozEkoala and Dingo now have an international market for their crafts, and animals come from all over the world to learn their art from them. This has given the three of them wonderful opportunities to tell the world about what their God has done for them, and how He achieved it. The End |
