Black.

Day 6. Black Saturday.

‘Fraid this is going to be another one of those thought dumps, just like my last post which I swear would have been a whole lot better that it turned out. I’m pretty sure I’m going to be cringing if I read it again in the future.

Well, I’m not dismissing the potential of this practice of forcing myself to type and post 1000 words a day just yet. There’s probably no better way for me to keep track of what I’ve been doing at this date and time, than for me to post thoughts I’ve been nurturing throughout today, and making it all public.

So I thought I’d be ending the week with a bang, but it turns out that my dog had other plans. She gave birth to 4 puppies throughout the course of the day. Mom had to cancel her events, and I had to make sure I spent time with said dog and pups, to make sure that she doesn’t do anything untoward to her kids.

At first, I didn’t believe it was possible for her to not know how to take care of her babies. I thought that even animal mothers knew how to take care of their younglings, more or less. Well, it turns out that Akira can be a little rougher than usual with her newborn pups, and my Mom wouldn’t have it. When I came home this evening she made the decision to take the pups away from Akira so she could manually take care of them – wiping them, feeding them and all that.

I would have agreed with my mother about how Akira’s rough handling may potentially lead to tragedy, until I told my church youth about the situation. One of them who was fond of taking care of dogs told me that it was natural for Akira to be that vigorous in her handling, and that we should observe her actions so she wouldn’t smother and/or eat them.

So when I got back home to see a makeshift incubator, I assumed my mom took things into her own hands, with the best of intentions. I told her what I knew and she was nice enough to consider taking the pups back to their mom again. So we tried to make a spot in the tool room for her to be comfortable in, and as soon as Akira was settled in, my own mom brought the pups back to her. She did handle them rough, or at least in our own eyes – something about them being so tiny, especially when she had each of them carried by her mouth.

However, after giving time and additional observation to Akira, I noticed she was doing something we as humans simply could not do – that is, to lick them all over to clean them of afterbirth and all sorts of stuff. Eventually, she let them come closer to her belly area so they could feed.

It was a sobering sight at first, but as I kept coming back and forth for Akira to be used to taking care of them without me around, there was one time she got all crazy again and tried to move the pups in other area in the small tool shed. I was frustrated – it wasn’t just aggression but it just looked so freaking dangerous for Akira to try to clean her pups while they weren’t necessarily in the best of positions, halfway through the depth of boxes filled with all sorts of recyclables that we should have disposed of years ago.

I was screaming at her as if she knew what I was talking about, but finally I took the initiative to just drag out anything in the tool room where Akira can be more creative in ‘hiding’ her pups.

I’m scared that the pups wouldn’t make the night, but there’s no other way for us to know of Akira’s capabilities than for us to trust her to do the right thing as we humans slept human sleep.

It’ll be Easter Sunday in around 15 minutes, and I have all the intentions to prepare a good message for me to proclaim, in celebration for this great moment, where we all remember Christ raising from the dead.

I’m not exactly sure what I’ll be talking about yet, but I do want to have something ready to post here – not just to meet my 1000 word daily challenge, but to put in writing what I’ve had marinating in my mind ever since I started thinking about a resurrection Sunday message.

What exactly would that be? Well, so far, it’s just that the resurrection of Christ is the reason why I have peace beyond all understanding.

Allow me to explain to clarify, and consequently, to clarify to explain.

I’ve felt peace beyond understanding during my Father’s sickness and death, for Christ’s death and resurrection had me see only two possibilities for him, both amazing: (1) Full and miraculous healing for the world to see, or (2) His passing from being based on his physical body, into eternity, enjoying everlasting love with Christ.

I’ve felt peace beyond understanding when my laptop and camera were casually snatched from me that one time I foolishly dumped the said bag at the back of the bus before alighting to have a quick cigarette. It is through Christ’s death and resurrection that any loss or gain of material things is placed in their rightful place. I may not always have these things, but I have no less than the Creator with me, before, during, and after these encounters.

Besides, it could have been worse. Had I caught and chased these thieves I would have lost a limb, or I would have joined Dad prematurely.

So far, my personal meditation of the word has led me to understanding the nature of the Living Word, who is Christ – I may not know all there is to know about Christ, but I have peace beyond understanding, knowing that I KNOW Christ, and He KNOWS me – which speaks more into intimacy and closeness and union with Christ more than it does His actions in the short time He was with us in this world.

We never waste time in meditating on the word, which leads to the living Word, who is Christ and His finished work – simply because everything else that we would dare to place on the same pedestal would certainly be inferior, just as Creator is over creation.

I have peace beyond understanding, that puts Christ in His rightful place as first and foremost in everything seen and unseen – Surely, for His finished work He has been exalted over every other name.

I’ll write more about this tomorrow, and hopefully post something.