The Wonder of Creation

One of our favorite family activities is watching nature documentaries. Our kids have always loved animals and animal facts, and it’s relaxing to see creatures and landscapes from all over the world.

The BBC’s series “Planet Earth” and “Blue Planet” are some of our favorites. While there are mentions of evolution and global warming, our kids can spot those lies a mile away! From the beginning of reading library books about dinosaurs and watching Wild Kratts, every time millions of years, big bang, evolving, etc. was mentioned, we stopped and walked our toddlers and elementary kids through the truth of the Bible and the falseness of evolution theory. Now, we can watch those programs and they will usually point out the errors before we have a chance!

But the reason we put so much thought and effort into still watching programs that have evolution is to show our kids how amazing creation is and to talk through the incredible attributes of God. I want to highlight a few animals that we learned about from the recent “Planet Earth III” documentary.

The pearl octopus lives deep in the ocean. To keep their eggs warm enough to grow and hatch, they travel to hydrothermal vents where water temperatures can be ten degrees warmer. After laying her eggs, the mother stays with them as a layer of extra warmth and protection. She doesn’t leave, even to eat. When the eggs finally hatch {almost two years later!} and the babies swim away from the vents, the mothers die. They give everything for the survival of their young. Here’s an interesting short clip about this octopus.

One of the animals that had us laughing and marveling was the archer fish. This incredible creation shoots insects off leaves by accurately measuring the distance, accounting for distortion in the water reflection, and spitting water in a perfect stream at the insect! It really is fascinating to watch!

The final animal I’ll mention is the lily trotter, or African Jacanas. These birds seem to run on the surface of the water but their large feet are actually spread across lily pads. What struck us about this bird is shown at the end of this video. To protect the chicks, the father lily trotter tucks them into his wings and carries them to safety. What a beautiful picture of how God cares for us! He doesn’t leave us when we need him or expect us to figure out trials on our own. He lovingly shields us.

Creation is a wonder filled place. As we watched “Planet Earth III” and heard about animals new to us or places just now being discovered, I dwelt on the thought that God knew all along. That creature, that place has been there all along. Even when we didn’t realize it, God was getting the glory for creation that only he saw.

Take this as encouragement to explore creation with your kids. Watch documentaries. Read books. But always point them to the Creator.

Photo by David Clode on Unsplash

The Joy of a Garden

I am not an avid gardener.

I know people who live and breathe plants. They know flower varieties by sight, the best things to plant in their growing zone, which vegetables prefer which soil, research and read, begin preparation months before the planting. They are true plant people. And I respect them and their acquired wisdom on all things green.

I am more of a flower gardener than a food gardener. I love the beauty of bursting blooms more than the practicality of growing useful food. But even then, I base what I grow on looks, ease of planting and upkeep, and if it’s an annual or perennial. These are my determining factors in what I will spend my time growing.

For example. after reading Floret Flowers book on dahlias, I was in love…until I tried growing them. The few tubers I put in that spring did fabulous; they produced huge, gorgeous blooms. But in my zone, it was recommended that I dig up the tubers and store them, covered in dirt, in a place that wouldn’t reach freezing or in a fridge. Then in the spring, I would need to replant the tubers, hoping they didn’t rot over the winter, and restart the process in the fall. Dahlias suddenly became the divas of my garden.

I gave it a try, carefully digging up the tubers, reading how deep and what kind of pot to keep them happy in over winter, storing them in my garage, and crossing my fingers for spring. None of them made it. That spring, I retrieved my precious tubers to find them shriveled. I planted them with wishful thinking but of course nothing happened. No beautiful blooms. All my efforts were wasted.

I made the decision to not try again, which some may think is giving up too soon, but I figured there were plenty of other flowers to set my attention to. Cosmos and zinnias were my next efforts. I once again was extremely pleased with the beauty and abundance of the seeds I scattered that quickly took root and sprouted. I was even more pleased the next year when cosmos shot up on their own, no effort from me required.

You see, as much as I love gardening, I love low maintenance gardening. The bursts of color, the unique petals and blooms, the joy of watching plants sprout higher, higher, and then budding and flourishing. I love it. But not enough to plant diva dahlias and pour time and money into flowers that don’t appreciate the effort. {I kid, but you get the point.}

Whatever type of gardener you are — flower, vegetable, high maintenance, low maintenance, the enjoy other people’s gardens gardener — I hope you spend time marveling at creation. I can’t walk outside and see a flower without noting the variations God put in place. Even within a flower “kind” like roses; so many colors, petal types, even the smells differ. I may be a low maintenance, keep it simple gardener, but I still enjoy the beauty God has made and the small part I can take in cultivating some of that beauty.

Consider these words from Psalm 8:

1 O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens.

2 Out of the mouth of babies and infants, you have established strength because of your foes, to still the enemy and the avenger.

3 When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place,

4 what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?

5 Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor.

6 You have given him dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under his feet,

7 all sheep and oxen, and also the beasts of the field,

8 the birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea, whatever passes along the paths of the seas.

9 O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!

Photo by Amber Malquist on Unsplash