{ Layla Vue }

Hello, I would like you to meet Layla. Layla is chorkie (Chihuahua/yorkie mix). She will be 2 years old on March 22 and absolutely great company. I first met her in February of 2008. I actually met her sister first at a local pho restaurant and found her so adorably cute that I began to consider having a puppy of my own.

It wasn’t until 2 weeks after serious contemplation that I decided to call her breeder and set-up a meeting. I can remember the night clearly, Tracy (my former roommate) and I were leaving Riverside evening church service and we scheduled to meet her. On the drive there we got lost; we weren’t too familiar with the area. I believe added to that was my nerves that were steering me the wrong way. ;) When he brought over the litter there were 3 puppies total; Layla along with her two brothers. One looked identical to her and the other was fairly chubbier and lighter in color. I automatically eliminated the chances of the boys, because I didn’t want to hassle with cleaning after them.

She was sooo tiny! As soon as we started to drive off she started crying. It was clear that she knew she was alone; her brothers would now be complete strangers to her. I impatiently waited to hold her on the hour long drive home. You could clearly smell puppy on her but I wasn’t able to bathe her until the next day as I didn’t have her puppy shampoo. The first night she was completely exhausted so she slept well. On the second day I bathed her and she smelled as fresh as a spring tulip!

She sleeps with me every night and I love it. In the summer she sleeps at the corner of bed and in the winter she lays under the covers right by my side. She is very smart and vocal. She performs the basic tricks on command; sit, shake hand, jump, lie on stomach, wait, walk. When something is wrong, she cries for help. If you ask her what’s wrong she’ll make sure you understand what she needs.

I talk to her a lot, a lot more than I ever thought I would. I share scriptures, my thoughts and views with her. We run and play, I try to take her out as much as I can. Though I am usually very busy throughout the week, I try to my best to make time to be with her and show her affection. She’s really my baby and I extremely love her.

Sometimes when I talk to her, she responds with a wagging tail and a tilted head. Staring at me, I can tell she’s thinking “I have absolutely no idea what she’s saying but I love her anyways”. I wonder sometimes, do I love God the same? Do I trust Him in all that He does in my life? When I am unsure of what He’s doing, do I wait patiently and respond obediently? Do I absolutely love Him and trust Him whether I understand what He says? Most of my answers are yes’s but there are the few that I realize are no’s. It’s hard to realize and admit what you lack, but reflect on your reactions and your answer will be clear.

Let’s strive to love and trust in God more family. I believe that Layla loves and trusts me because I’ve displayed to her exactly that. If an animal such as Layla can interpret my love for her, how much harder can it be for us to understand God’s love for us?

This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. – 1 John 4:9-11