Captivating Captives

I went and did some errands today and after completing those errands somehow I ended up at the zoo. Talk about being spontaneous!!! Usually I have my list and I go from number one at the top of my list to the bottom. I usually do not go out of order as when making this list and organize my time to the minute..... sometimes..... Today took an usual turn at the zoo. I took some pictures of my favorite animals to share. This little guy, the meerkat looked so cute and innocent until someone threw some potato chips inside his area and then he got "all up in arms" and would not let his 10 other friends join in the feast. He needs to learn to share. I just wanted to pull him out of there for being such a bully. He made a fool of himself and almost did not get his picture in my blog for this needless behavior.

A Masai Giraffe showed her spots today for all to see. She had a grand appearance. Her height gave her the look of superior confidence.

Ankole Cattle look fierce but they were just head to head eating hay. Thought the picture was majestic, though. I turned it black and white so you could focus on their eyes.

I proceeded to take a picture of a paw from a Grizzly bear because the bear itself looked dead as it was lying in a deep sleep. The paw was more interesting anyway!

Then of course, the cheetah. The fast, smooth, silky looking fur of this creature made me want to climb into the cage and pet it. I didn't, of course!

This Giant Elant had the most beautiful horns. I think horns is what you call them. Hope I am not making to much of a fool of myself.

The good ole' zebra with its' un-flawed stripes. You can never go wrong with a zebra picture. My daughter wants me to enlarge this picture so she can put it on her wall. I don't know if zebras coordinate with red and yellow flowers, oh well, who cares??? She loves it, right?

I always wonder how the flamingos can stand on one leg with such great ease. Their formal name is the "Chilean Flamingo". I think these are most especially beautiful. They have such grace about themselves. The flamingo reminds me of a ballerina.

The Chilean Flamingo's colors were such a vibrant orange. I don't know if I care about all the bird poo on the ground.

The California Sea Lions seemed to swim into circles. I wonder if they get dizzy. There were three of them and they did these figure eights constantly. It was kind of sad.

I don't know this little birds formal name, but of all the animals here, I love this little bird the best. It had character and charm and I think the setting of this bird was most perfect.

I wanted you to see the beauty of these animals and I wished I could say I took these pictures in the wild in their own habitat, just not the case though.

They are captives of the zoo, held hostage behind glass windows, screens, bars or valleys of concrete filled with water for those that don't swim. By the end of my visit, my head was hanging low with sadness. I wish they could be set free. Maybe they are free because they are there. Maybe this is their second chance at life by being fed, housed and healed.

Captive: a prisoner, enslaved, dominated, confined.

I started thinking about their captivity and although their captivity is very visual, how often than not are we ourselves captives too? We can become captives to food, cell phones, clothing, cars, stuff that fills homes, drugs, alcohol, gossip and the list goes on.

We sometimes remain captive to our vices throughout our lifetime continually relying on them for an artificial happiness.

The Israelites were captives and through Pharaoh's refusal to set them free, God intervened through his powerful,miraculous way and liberated them. It took time, faith and perseverance.

Finding joy in the midst of distress. Don't worry, be happy, a song that use to be played over and over again on the radio, finally got the attention of the listeners. This song needs to be played again over and over so we will once again 'get it'.

Hunger or plenty, wealth or want, abundance or poverty are situations in which we can derive our strength from our Lord. We can remain captive or get strength from our God to strive for holiness. Holiness is in short being obedient, obedient to God. God 's abundance love for us and his desire for us to be happy is just that, a mystery. How we respond to this mystery is the key to our freedom from captivity.

Being the person that God created, loving what you do forces us out of being inhabitants of this captivity. If we do not respond to God's call we will self destruct and swim in circles like the California Sea Lions.

In the Old Testament, Leviticus 18 and 19 'I am the Lord' appears 21 times. Various rules of conduct are mentioned here to Moses and the whole Israelite community. The Lord said to Moses, "Speak to the whole Israelite community and tell them: Be holy, for I, the Lord, your God. am holy." Leviticus 19:1-2 "Do not turn aside to idols, nor make molten gods for yourselves. I, the Lord, am your God. Leviticus 19:4

God wants us to be holy and know that he is God. He does not want us to be captive to idols.

Noah and the animals became captive on an arch for a short while, but they listened to God's call and they were set free. Wanting anything other than God will set a course for us to be strickened with unhappiness and to be captives of misery and unfulfillment.

Don't worry, be happy, unless of course you see animals lining up 2 x 2.