Elephant Connection
There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. Ephesians 4:4-6
Is there anyone who does not like going to the zoo? No matter where we live, something in us is stirred when that is the destination. We observe all kinds of creatures from this country and all around the world. While the habitats are not always realistic, we can observe the uniqueness of each critter. Mabel Ninan (All God’s Creatures) shares a story that you all will enjoy,
*****
When our family goes out of town on vacation, we do our best to visit local zoos. On our first trip to Hawaii, we were thrilled to find the Honolulu Zoo not far from our hotel. After exploring the primates, birds, reptiles, and some animals from Africa, I was eager to check out one of my favorite mammals, the elephants. When we reached the elephant habitat, I noticed from the signage that they came from India, just like me! I watched the magnificent Asian elephants with awe and fascination. They moved around lazily and appeared to be smiling as they flapped their big ears and scooped chunks of hay into their large mouths with their trunks.
I wanted to learn more about these gentle giants, so I read the information available at the exhibit. Mari and Vaigal were given as gifts to the children of Hawaii from the children of India. Mari, who was only a few years older than me, amazingly came from my hometown in India, Hyderabad. Like me, she was far away from her homeland. As I spent time watching Mari in her surroundings, I felt a strange connection with her.
Believers all over the world are connected to one another because of their shared identity in Christ. We are children of God and citizens of His kingdom with the same spiritual ancestry and origins. And we, too, are far away from our permanent home in heaven. I hope when I meet believers from other parts of the world, I can look past our differences and find solidarity as spiritual siblings belonging to one family.
FAITH WALK: Pray for Christians all over the world by creating a yearly prayer calendar, remembering a country each day.
Gracious God, thank You for letting us learn life lessons from Asian elephants. While strange to think about, we know You are Present in everything. Please help us connect with our Christian families around the world and embrace our similarities. AMEN.
(This photo is really Mari and Vaigal.)