Sure it is almost the time of year when Christmas is here. I am sure that many of us have thanked the Lord Jesus for coming down to Earth and being born in Nazareth, then our concentration turns to buying the gifts, decorating the pine tree and baking the turkey and sweets. But wait! How many of us even bother to pray for, give to, or volunteer in helping the less fortunate? Gone are the days when many could rightfully claim ignorance to the tragedies that are both international and local. Turning on the television, reading the newspaper and listening …

Something has been happening, and although it’s low on the radar it has become a new trend. Couples and individuals, despite how professionally or economically privileged they may be, have been choosing to have a son or daughter, not via creating their own, but by visiting an adoption or government youth protection agency–such as Bathshaw Youth Protection—to invest their time, money and love into a child, baby or young adult. Now the trend has become one of buying a puppy, dog, kitten or animal to pour the God-given urge to birth a child into instead. Look around your own community …