My trip to Maui , as always, was a beautiful experience and I enjoyed teaching the Holy Relationship Intensive. But after nine hours of flying and schlepping luggage, I was completely exhausted by the time the plane touched ground in Seattle . After the two hour drive home to Bellingham , my dog and my bed were the only two things I was able to clearly focus on. I always miss Pontus when I am away.

Not even thirty minutes after setting foot inside my home, the dog walker showed up to take Pontus on his usual Friday afternoon walk at Squalicum Mountain. In my spirit I felt I had not yet been home long enough to bond with Pontus , nor did I have a chance to thoroughly express my sentiments of not seeing him after a 14 day retreat. But with the pressure of the dog walker arriving and the exhaustion from the trip, I ignored my intuition and let Pontus go as scheduled.

About three hours after they left, I received a somewhat frantic call from her stating that Pontus went off of his usual course and could not be found. Fear immediately gripped my body and my heart started to pound. I immediately dropped everything I was doing at the time, got into the car as fast as I could and went with my friend Sunny to find my dog up on the mountain. Along the way, I began pouring myself into prayer, asking the Holy Spirit to watch over Pontus and protect him with his angels. I cannot explain the thoughts of fear I had to fight off the possibility of losing him. He and I have traveled all over the world together, and I have such a divine connection that no one else can ever replace. I felt strongly that I could not and would not lose my baby. I gave myself no other option than to believe he was protected and would soon be found.

After hours of searching Mt. Baker Park and praying for guidance, Pontus still could not be found. Eventually Sunny and I found ourselves lost in front of the Big Bear mini store, when we decided to call it a night and look for Pontus the following day. I kept thinking we may not know the difference between lost and found. While were lost, I kept thinking of a quote I had heard in A Course in Miracles teaching that says “Some of our greatest advances we have judged as our greatest retreats and some of our greatest retreats we have judged as our greatest advances.” I kept believing that despite this situation, Pontus was safe and would allow himself to be found so that we could be together once again.

That night when I returned home, despite my extreme exhaustion, I could not sleep and stayed in prayer to the Holy Spirit. The following day at 6 am, I set out early to continue my search for Pontus . I had contacted the Humane Society, dog psychics, dog search websites and other sources to aid me in finding him. I spoke to 15 different people and one animal control officer in particular who seemed especially sensitive in helping me find Pontus . I utilized every possible source I could think of to help me find my dog.

Later that day, I received a call from that exact same animal control officer that Pontus had been found! What is interesting is that Pontus was found in front of the same store where Sunny and I were lost the day before. I know that the Holy Spirit answered the prayer for me and that is why Pontus was able to find that very same spot 14 hours later!

Pontus and I are happily united once again, and I have learned valuable lessons through this experience. I realized with the quote from A Course in Miracles was that we do not always know the difference between lost and found because we cannot always distinguish the ego mind from the truth. We may think we are indeed lost, but that can be the very point in which we later discover we are found. When I called out to the Holy Spirit, I released all my fears and just knew that He would send me help, which is exactly what happened. The Holy Spirit allowed everyone to commune together to aid me in finding my dog. There is a great quote that I will always hold close to me in remembrance of this experience which says “No teacher of God can fail to find the help they need.” I am living proof my help surely came to me at the time I needed it the most, even Pontus can attest to that.

For more inforamtion about Sandy Levey-Lunden, visit http://www.sandylevey.com