The Everlasting Arms

Tell me, octopus, I begs

Is those arms or is they legs?

I marvel at the octopus;

If I were thou, I'd call me us.

Ogden Nash

Our little friend Ella asked me to paint a purple octopus on her face, and that's exactly what I did. After carefully checking it out, she decided she liked it, even though I only painted five arms. Though only 3, she can tell you that an octopus squirts ink. She loves me to read her "The Rainbow Fish" book, where a wise octopus lives in a cave under the sea. My third picture is a page from that book that slightly scares her. An octopus is one of God's most amazing creatures. They are best known for their amazing defense techniques. They can change color and texture to blend in with anything. They can even make stripes on their body. If they lose an arm, they will regrow it, so their arms are everlasting. Oh, and they have three hearts. They are very smart and capable of learning. The staff at Washington D.C.'s National Aquarium will tell you they have personalities, a sense of humor, and are capable of being bored, so they have to entertain them as if they were smart, spoiled children. They will open screw top jars and child proof caps. Well, If I had eight arms, maybe I could, too! Perhaps I should get one as a pet to open all my medicine bottles! They can also distinguish shapes and colors and use tools. They love to play. The staff at the aquarium gives them Mr. Potato Heads, and they spend lots of time making faces on them. One octopus put a shell on his own head and glided along with his new hat on. They have no bones in their bodies, and can squeeze through the tiniest holes and cracks. They can also maneuver out of their tanks even when they are held down by 40 pounds of concrete blocks. All those arms have a lot of force. Once out, they visit the tanks of smaller fish, and snack on them. And here I thought that babysitting a three year old was a challange!

"The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms." Deut. 33:27