Pet Shopping
Pet Shopping
God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.
Philippians 2:13
Hugo, Shortcake, Mrs. Buffy. As I scrolled down the list of pets available for adoption on the Happy Tails Rescue website, my children kept pointing at the pictures, exclaiming over them, and asking me to read the details of each pet. The dogs were cute, they said, but they missed our temporary pet Kit Kat, and so they kept gravitating toward the cats.
“They’re so cute, Mom! I wish we could have one!” their little voices chorused.
I smiled, agreeing, but tempered my response with the reminder that we weren’t in the market for a permanent pet.
That didn’t mean we couldn’t dream a little, though. Snuggled up together on the couch, my kids sat on either side of me while we talked about the pros and cons of cats and dogs. Then we got down to the real business of the day: shopping for the animal rescue’s needs. That morning when I had read out our kind act of the day, written on a small slip of paper taken from our Advent tree, the children were overjoyed at the thought of helping these sweet animals. I endured as much kid excitement as I could take before giving in during the baby’s nap time that afternoon. Finding the link for the animal rescue’s online wish list, we clicked over to Amazon, buying puppy pads, food bowls, and cat chews to be sent directly to the rescue’s location. We talked and made decisions together about what items we should choose, the kids’ excitement palpable with every click.
“That was fun, Mom,” Elise said when we were finished. “I’m glad we could help those dogs and cats.”
“Me too,” I agreed. It hit me that nothing about this kind act felt frustrating or difficult—in fact, it was a joy. The more we help others and show the people (and pets) in this world kindness, the more God will work in us, giving us the desire and the power to do what pleases him.
— Today’s Act of Kindness —
Find a way to show kindness to animals today.
From the book
