September 07 Martha's Musings

As you may or may not know, the Arizpe household has a new member. We adopted a puppy from Austin Pets Alive, and he weighed in at 3.82 pounds when we first got him and is now up to 5.86 pounds. We named him “Carlos”, and he has taught us quite a bit about happiness since he arrived. For instance, if one is truly excited to be fed dinner, this feeling is best shown by jumping up and down and twirling in circles in-between the jumps. He has also taught us that if one is tired, one should just lay down on the nearest human or new bestie, (in his case, our 4yo dog Savannah) and drift off to slumberland. No specific time is required: if you are tired, you take a nap. And should life throw you a hurdle, like Mom trying to prevent you from eating Savannah’s food, you quickly assess the situation, realize that she is much taller than you and cannot crawl under the chair, so you do so and voila! You end up right in front of Savannah’s food bowl, much to the chagrin of both Savannah and Mom. I keep thinking that as a human, I am much smarter than this tiny pup. As the days go by, I am learning that maybe that is not true. He is highly motivated by food and uses his small stature to outwit all of us. But boy, is he ever cute! He lays down on Hubby’s shoulder, puts his head up by his ear, and gently breathes, which Hubby finds just adorable. Savannah is smitten with him as well, and although he has only been here for a couple of weeks, we are all bonded now as a group. I remember that same feeling when my children were born: once they are a part of your life, it is so hard to imagine life without them. Cuteness ingratiates itself very well, it seems. And what a blessing that is for all! The sad thing is that there is a need for companies like Austin Pets Alive, as there is a surplus of unwanted animals. Conversely, the happy thing is that there are many nice people who are thrilled to adopt a pet, of any type or age, as people’s needs are different. An animal’s needs are different, too. It never is a “one size fits all” with an animal adoption. I think the world at large is like this: something needs to be fixed, and God hopes we see the problem and do our best to solve it. Maybe that is why there are so many problems in the worlds – if everything was perfect, we would never have an opportunity to “step up”. So today I thank my Heavenly Father for somehow guiding us to Carlos, whose joy for life is a daily reminder of the goodness of God. So, please feel free to jump and turn in circles before your dinner tonight. Both the cook and the Creator will appreciate it. Then, take a nap.

Blessings,
Martha Arizpe, St. John’s Prayer Team