All Creatures Great & Small
Since I was little, I have always loved the poem All Things Bright and Beautiful, by Cecil F. Alexander.
I learned this poem when I was introduced to my favorite books written by James Herriot about a country vet in England a long time ago.
The main verse in the poem goes:
All creatures great and small,
All things wise and wonderful:
The Lord God made them all.
In waking this morning, I read the incredible blog post from a pastor of one of the Colorado shooting victims. The lady's name is Petra, and she was shot several times in the arm and once in the face. The shot to the face went through her nose, and up the back of her skull. Everyone had feared extreme brain damage, but doctors were astounded to find an undetected "defect" in her brain that she had since birth. A channel of fluid existed exactly where the bullet passed, and because of this, her damage was very minimal. She is talking, and an attempt to walk is being made as you read this post.
It struck me that we choose to call things like this a "defect". In the post the pastor goes on to say it is "previent grace"...something specially planned by God before we ever really even exist. God created Petra with that channel of fluid in her brain years before that shooting ever happened.
Have you ever felt like you were given a specific gift, or meant for a certain time?
How great it would be to have that feeling. As a Christian, I know I was made for a reason. So far, I know it was to be Noel and Hope's mommy. :)
Being a Science nerd that I am, I actually thought of this last week.
I stepped outside of my house and directly where I was about to put my foot, there was a seed.
Seeds are pretty amazing {ok, well maybe just to me}, and after taking many Biology and Botany classes, I have learned the ins and outs of them. Pollination is just as amazing, but Ill spare you my geek-rambling.
Back to seeds....
Layers on the inside...different parts meant to nourish, grow and protect.
That tattered "wing" looking part on the top of this particular seed is actually created to help this seed travel by wind- ready to land wherever the wind drops it.
This seed has been through a lot, it looks like. Its flying days are over.
If you've ever blown a dandelion, you have seen first hand, the wind dispersal of seeds.
God created such an amazing system to spread his creation, whether it be by wind, water, fire, or even animals.
No matter how small....even the seeds that blow in the air...the Lord God made them all.
Pray for Petra and also for her mom who is in the late stages of breast cancer too.