Recently I had occasion to closely examine a flower called a "Protea." I wish I had taken a picture. For those who may have never seen one, it looks like a ball of spikes which curl upward toward the center, like a red or yellow pincushion. The petals of this flower are these short, fluffy reddish or yellowish tubes, which fit so closely together that they look like a fluffy ball that these "pins" are stuck in.
Anyway, these particular native South African plants were grown in Hawaii, in cool soil but warm sun, and attract hummingbirds in this environment. To me, they smell like pineapple-buttered popcorn. I'm not sure I would call them the most floral-looking of flowers, but they have their own charm. God made them!
This got me thinking. The Protea is, above all things, an intricately-built machine. It opens with mathematical clockwork, and every piece is uniquely positioned for maximum effect. It was made according to an intricate and amazing pattern. There's something stunning in the way the spikes formed by the pistols line up and look the same from every angle. I see obvious signs of the care and love that formed this lowly creature, even though it is here today and dried up tomorrow.
When we look at things like that, we should recognize the message God is sending us through His creations. If He cared enough to make flowers bloom the way they do, then we should be assured that He cares about everything, small and large, that happens to us (Matthew 6: 28-32). Take heart, my friends! There's a pattern and a plan unfolding in our lives--perhaps so slowly that we can't perceive it, like the petals of a flower--and when it is done, we will see the beauty in the design, and praise the workmanship of the Designer (Philippians 1: 4-6). Let us submit to the direction of our Designer, so the work He is doing can be carried out smoothly to the end.
The following are two YouTube videos of flowers blooming on time-lapse film. The first one may have taken place over several hours; the second one only took minutes. I think you'll be blown away by how these "machines" work. God does magnificent things!
The whole earth is filled with awe at your wonders; where morning dawns, where evening fades, you call forth songs of joy. --Psalm 65: 8 NIV
0 comments:
Post a Comment