I recently bought a fish. He's a red betta. Red, because it's pretty. A betta because the lady at the pet store said they're the hardest to kill. We're pals. I also have an assortment of houseplants. (I do best with the kind that you don't have to water all the time.) It's fun. I like living things (it really is best if they're hard to kill). While the diversity and beauty of living things is a HUGE blessing, that isn't the biggest gift my fish and plants give to me. Their greatest benefit for my soul is the fact that they do what God created them to do without complaint. God created fish to swim. My fish is quite content with his lot in life; he does not rebel against the Maker by trying to escape the bowl. He must understand that God has put him there for his own good, not his detriment. The plants sit in their respective window sills and shelves, some enjoying the sun, some enjoying less of the sun. They produce oxygen and filter the air...