REMY

I have been in love, the bromance kind, with a dog. 

Named after the main character in the Pixar movie, Ratatouille, Remy is a small chihuahua sent from heaven, as our family would like to believe. Remy dons short and thick brown hair featuring a tiny bald spot on his forehead. His signature look though is his regal and proud ears that stand tall and oversized compared to the rest of his body. Remy is also a dog with hundred facial expressions with his lower lip reminiscent of human lips. But his eyes tell us so much of what he feels and what he thinks.

Remy still maintains pale pink paws reminding us all that he is a poor walker. But nobody blames him because he lives in Minnesota with my daughter, Elizabeth. It is a good thing he is here in Southern California now. Though it’s been raining and cold, this is paradise compared to Minnesota’s blizzardy winter where winter wonderland turns very quickly into frozen tundra. Chihuahuas are not meant to be in Minnesota, I suppose, but along the idyllic warm coast of the Mexican Riviera. No wonder Remy loves the beach. 

We remember the day Remy first came to us like yesterday. He was skittish and extremely cautious and timid. Elizabeth shared with us how she got hold of Remy. Elizabeth rescued Remy from a dog foster home. It turned out that from an earlier photo before ending up at the foster home, Remy at one point had lost all his hair and was a scared and neglected dog. Elizabeth does not know the full history, but apparently, Remy overcame his adversities and became one of the most charming dogs in the foster home. Elizabeth quickly spotted him and brought him home. 

Even then when given food for the first few weeks, poor Remy gulped his food, not chewing, lest someone take his food away. Remy was also so funny looking that we all chuckled at him. Speaking for myself, I did not know what the attraction was initially. That question disappeared as quickly as it came to me when Remy came to me gingerly when I was sitting down on the sofa. He wanted to sit on my lap. As I let him, he was happily content and did not move until I moved. He even let me caress his paws while on my lap. He promptly melted my heart then and I fell in love with Remy. When Remy leaves California, my heart aches. When Remy arrives back in California, my heart leaps with joy. 

Remy is a seasoned traveler having flown close to 10 times now as Elizabeth and he have gone back and forth between Minnesota and California for the last several years. Remy made a dashing appearance as a proud and special guest during Hannah and Jeremiah’s wedding last summer. Remy now eats in a relaxed mode without having to worry about when the next meal may come. Remy has become famous as he has more followers on his Instagram than I do. 

We all believe that Remy is an angel disguised as a chihuahua, a special gift from God to our family. The truth of the matter is Remy came to me during the most tumultuous time of my life, after stepping down from leadership and having entered my yearlong sabbatical, not knowing where God would call me next. Remy’s cuddly presence, simply wanting to be with me, provided soothing healing for my soul.

Remy has also been my teacher, teaching me to embrace the sacred presence of now. Small children, animals, and nature have something in common. They are all utterly present to the present moment. They accept now as now and do not betray the present moment. The other day, I was watching Remy across the sofa from where I was sitting. Remy was fixated on a tiny gnat, not even a fly, as his eyes followed the swirling movement of the gnat, amused and curious while tilting his head from side to side. That brought me a smile and a lesson. 

Remy exhibits and embodies the ministry of presence. Remy does not talk but his presence brings encouragement and healing to those who are near him. I have been reminded of the importance and graceful power of the ministry of presence as I have attended numerous funeral services in recent months.

This angel comes packaged in oversized ears and a tiny dense body while delivering a big-sized lesson of being present in the present moment by simply being a lap dog. I need this angel around me for a long time as I have much to learn.