Growing

I must admit, I've never been an animal person. The few pets I grew up with were mainly outdoor pets, and not being much of an outdoor girl, I didn't feel terribly bonded to them. But guess what? God gave me an outdoor, animal loving daughter and through her, I'm learning to love animals too.



I should have known Ashley would love animals. Her favorite toys, even as an infant were plastic animals she could chew on. She'd gurgle and coo at a tiny stuffed kitty we made meow at her. Her chubby little hand always reached for it before any others. Then as a toddler, she loved playing with her Fisher Price farm. She spent hours moving the animals around, even playing with it while she watched TV.



Today, Ashley is twelve. She has had pet flies (those before we thought she was old enough to have a real pet), a hamster, a rat, a turtle, two hermit crabs, fish, three water frogs, two dogs, and two guinea pigs. I consented to all these animals, but not always happily. But here's the funny thing. I actually grew to love most of these creatures after only a few days. Maybe it's because I love the girl who loves them so much. I don't know. But I do know that I have learned to genuinely feel something warm and squishy about something that I used to find annoying.



That gives me hope. I know annoying people. I bet you do too. Perhaps I can learn to love them, as I did those silly animals. Or if nothing else, maybe I'll feel warm and squishy simply because I so love the One who loves us all.