No, the title shouldn’t say a taco.

Our latest adopted rescue dog chose Taco as his name. Who would have thought? It does reflect him in many ways. He has a spicy bark that crawls up my spine at times. Like a Mexican jumping bean he loves to pop up and bark at any one or thing in front of the house. He even pops up to kiss you when excited. In the midst of chasing a thrown toy he often bends in various angles – very reflective of his name.

As cute as these things can be, these are not the things I’ve learned from Taco.

Knowing what he’s been through and where he is today is part of the lesson I’ve learned. At about 4 months of age he was struck by a vehicle and ended up with a broken hip thus entering a rescue set-up. Nothing is known about him before that. After two months of living in a crate as part of the healing process, he arrived at our house. He pushes himself to do or retrieve. Letting nothing get in his way.

Sure he falls going down the steps, but as soon as he reaches the bottom he’s up again and on to the next room. Sometimes the slip comes after he reaches the bottom. Resembling a skater slipping on ice he lifts the hip area and keeps going as if nothing injuring happened.

As I’ve observed him I realized that’s how I – we – should be. Life is not easy. Injuries and wounds happen. Sad times could overwhelm us. But should we let it consume us and limit our future activity? Isn’t it better to say, “Oh bother. That acted up again.”, shake it off and keep going to the best of our ability?

Daily as I watch this “still-learning-the-do’s-and-don’ts” dog forge ahead with life I am challenged to do the same. I encourage each of us to follow Taco’s example and let nothing stop us from doing what God calls us to do.