Last post mentioned two ways discoveries that would help one see God more in creation. They were:
- Know Creation better.
- Know God better.
I’ll add a third one: Make a connection between the two.
Today, I’d like to just briefly share one observation of Creation that helped me begin to know it more and connect it back to God.
The Junipers Virginiana, or Easter Red Cedar, is all over the place out here in eastern Kansas. It loves moisture -sucks up whatever it can around here.
It produces lovely little icy-blue berries that work well for Christmas decor, and might even make some good gin. Who knew??? The full branches offer a snug and secure home for birds too.
One day, in science, one of my 5th grade boys pointed out a pattern he had noticed. “Miss Bryan, look, there are Y-shapes everywhere!”
A little puzzled, I asked him to point it out.
See the scales, how they brach out, like Y shapes? Well if you go find this tree, you’ll see that patter replicated beyond those tiny scales, on the twigs, on the beaches, on the limbs of the tree itself, so that when you step back, you just see a bunch of upside down hanging Y’s.
I wonder if this is called a fractal? (If you click on that link, it’ll lead you to some really neat pictures of what I’m thinking of.)
frac·tal/ˈfraktəl/
a curve or geometric figure, each part of which has the same statistical character as the whole. Fractals are useful in modeling structures (such as eroded coastlines or snowflakes) in which similar patterns recur at progressively smaller scales, and in describing partly random or chaotic phenomena such as crystal growth, fluid turbulence, and galaxy formation.
1970s: from French, from Latin fract- ‘broken’, from the verb frangere .
~Oxford Dictionary
For sure it’s something of an inscape, a term Gerard Manley Hopkins coined back in the mid to late 1800’s.
in·scape/ˈinˌskāp/
the unique inner nature of a person or object as shown in a work of art, especially a poem.
~Oxford Dictionary
The design in the smaller piece of greenery, replicated over and over again in even the whole of the Red Cedar was something discovered in nature/creantion.
Keep in mind though, that this reoccurring pattern was only seen after taking the time to look closely and explore the specimen.
After wowing for a bit over the design found in the natural world, the connection was then made to the Being who designed such intricacies. Such a pattern is surely a fingerprint of a Master Designer.
Hope this little reflection helped you see more than just green stuff on your daily exposure to nature today.
Thanks for reading!
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#wonder #God #eternity #nature #naturejournal #catholic #goodtruebeautiful #gardening #watercolor #kansasartist #easterredcedar #juniperusvirginiana #gerardmanleyhopkins #inscape #fractals
Bridget Bryan 