In the South American countries of Peru, Bolivia and Ecuador and nearby parts of the high Andes Mountains, large numbers of lively and playful alpacas seem to enjoy their time spent eating the tall grass and chewing their cuds. A lovable type of animal, they have pleasant-looking, inquisitive faces.
Alpacas look like huge stuffed toys, with their cute faces and coats of fleecy wool that cover them from head to toe like a big blanket. They are related to camels and llamas, but alpacas are the smallest of the three. Alpaca feet have two toes, with hard toenails on top and soft pads on the bottom of their feet. These soft feet keep them from ruining the pastures where they graze.
For as far back as anyone remembers, alpacas have been raised for their valuable wool. One reason their warm wool is valuable is that it is soft and water- and flame-resistant. It is also antibacterial and antimicrobial, keeping down the growth of mold, mildew and bacteria. Alpaca wool is sheared every year and each alpaca produces five to ten pounds of wool. Peru produces most of the world’s alpaca fiber, with around four million of these animals raised for their wool. The only problem with alpaca’s lovely wool is that it is quite expensive.
While llamas and alpacas may look alike to someone not familiar with them, there are differences. One of these is that llamas are bigger and stronger than alpacas. Llamas can be used as pack animals, carrying loads across the plains and mountain passes, whereas alpacas cannot be used that way.
The Creator has given both of these animals, whose homes are normally above sea level 12,000 to 16,000 feet, extra hemoglobin. Hemoglobin is the protein in blood that carries oxygen from the lungs to the rest of the body. This special blood is the reason they have no problem living in the high altitudes where there isn’t much oxygen.
We learned that alpacas have special feet that keep them from ruining the pastures where they live. What about us? Is our life something that hurts those around us and doesn’t make people want to know the Lord Jesus? Or is it a walk that shows the love and goodness of God, so that people want to know about Him? Our opening verse talks about how Christians should walk, or live. We are told to redeem, or buy up, the time, so it is not lost. That is, we are to use our time wisely, knowing that people around us need to hear the truth about God. Every moment matters! We can pray with those extra moments, too! The time we “buy” in this way is time that will go with us
into eternity.
Did You Know?
Alpaca wool is water- and flame-resistant and also antibacterial and antimicrobial.
Messages of God’s Love 2/25/2024