Won’t God Take Care of His ‘Pets’?

By Mesha Oh

She was now in her 60s, although she looked and felt a lot older. She had had a very turbulent life, coming as she did from a very dysfunctional family. Simply surviving and trying to preserve a semblance of sanity was itself a great daily struggle for her. She was fortunate that her grandfather, who had recently died, had left behind a modest sum of money for her in the bank, because otherwise, it might have been impossible for her to get by. She had also inherited his little, one-bedroom apartment (where she now lived) along with his dog, Apollo, who was just a year old.

She hadn’t been much of an animal lover before, but this began to change when she and Apollo were brought together. In a while, she began to dote on the dog. She felt a deep and very tender motherly love for him. How she took care of him, trying to meet his every need and make him comfortable! She hadn’t done anything like that for anyone else before!

One morning, she was sitting in her bed, sunk in gloomy thoughts about the future that swirled around her mind like a typhoon. How would she manage when the money she had inherited ran out? Who would take care of her? Where would she live? And now with a new virus raging around, what if she fell sick and didn’t have enough money for treatment? She couldn’t think of anyone who might help her. Was there any point continuing to living like this, with such uncertainty?

Just then, she felt something wet and tickly on her toes. She looked down. It was little Apollo, who had given her a friendly lick. She smiled, and he seemed to smile back. She began stroking Apollo’s head. And as she did so, she thought to herself:

Apollo is my little pet, and I love him dearly. I do whatever I can to take care of him, to meet his needs, to see that he is comfortable and happy and that no harm comes to him. If a mere human being can do this for their pet, will not the Almighty Creator of the universe do that too—and more as well—for His ‘pets’, for me and others?

If a fallible mortal like me would never let Apollo down, would the Almighty Creator ever let me down?

If God has created us and loves us—as they say—and we are His little ‘pets’, as it were, wouldn’t it be in His nature to take care of me, to help me meet my needs, to guide me through life?

She felt a great calm descend on her. In a short while, she got out of bed and headed to the kitchen to prepare Apollo’s breakfast.