Soap Bubble

“The knowledge of nature is the way to admire the greatness of the Creator. … Everything that the most prolific imagination and highest intelligence can think out seems, when compared with reality, but a colourful, shiny soap bubble.”

(Justus von Liebig, chemist)

Image by Alexa from Pixabay

This post is part of One-Liner-Wednesday

Fearfully and wonderfully made.

Sitting in the bath one morning, I noticed the sunshine coming through the window falling on my hand. Even though it is an almost seventy-year-old hand, it is an amazing piece of engineering! What piece of man-made mechanical expertise in daily use lasts as long?

I though of my skin. Waterproof but breathable. How many rain coats have I been through trying to find that combination? On top of that, skin is elastic – although admittedly there is a bracelet of fold lines at the start of my wrist. These lines are badges of work done, trophies of accomplishments. Moreover, skin is self-repairing. Can you imagine how expensive it would be to buy such an amazing material!

I swiveled my hand and opened and closed the fingers. I considered my bones, so delicately crafted, so well designed and well integrated with each other. I got to thinking about nerves for communication, blood vessels to keep all the parts alive and functioning, muscles for movement and tendons for connection.

How awesome and creative is our God! I love Psalm 139.

“For you formed my inward parts;
    you knitted me together in my mother’s womb.
¹⁴ I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.^[a]
Wonderful are your works;
    my soul knows it very well.
¹⁵ My frame was not hidden from you,
when I was being made in secret,
    intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
¹⁶ Your eyes saw my unformed substance;
in your book were written, every one of them,
    the days that were formed for me,
    when as yet there was none of them.”(ESV)

My Prayer

Creator God, I praise You for Your wonderful works, Your amazing designs and infinite variety. Truly, I am fearfully and wonderfully made and I stand in awe of You. Amen.

“Pearly Shells from the Ocean…”

When my granddaughters get to the beach, they like to collect shells. They sort them and arrange them, show them off and admire them. Some of this enthusiasm must have rubbed off on me because when my husband and I went for a walk on the beach recently, the little girl in me surfaced and I decided to collect shells. It is amazing the colour and variety one can find!

Found on Scottburgh Beach

They also come in all sizes. At the shell shop in Shelly Beach there is a shell almost one meter across! It is not for sale. I found shells small as my baby finger nail!

The creativity of God never ceases to astound me. Sure, I can categorise my shells into rough families but even within those groups there is so much variety.

How much more individuality can be found among people! Again, we can roughly group people according to country and heritage but within those groups there is endless variety. If we learn to treat people as individuals, made in the image of God, our interactions with them would be so much deeper.

Our Father created us all and He has a unique plan for us all. I love Psalm 139.

“For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. … Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.”(vs 13,14,16 NIV)

My Prayer

Father, please open my eyes to Your wonderful creativity all around me. Help me to treat each person I meet as an unrepeatable masterpiece made in Your image. Amen.

Beach Memories 2

“For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” (Ephesians 2:10 NIV)

Once my six-year-old granddaughter had had enough jumping in the waves, she decided to try her hand at digging a swimming pool. After a while, her father came to join her but left her to lead the project.

When God created us in His image, one of the attributes He implanted in us was creativity. We all have some of the creativity of our Maker whether we like to design engines, do woodwork, create a garden, paint a picture, write a book or…(fill in the blank.) It is our Father’s gift.

He would love to be with us in our creativity and He can inspire us with ideas, but He leaves us to manage the project and He takes as much pleasure in the finished work as we do – even is it’s only a sand castle.

My Prayer

Father, thank You for the gift of creativity. May I seek to glorify You in everything I do so I can bring everything I make to You like a preschooler bringing home his artwork and say, “Look Daddy, I made this for You.” Amen.