| I’m sitting at the kitchen table in our cottage on Wednesday morning, watching the snowflakes gently floating down from the sky. I hear that many schools in the Detroit area are closed. Winter has arrived early this year. I have heard that snowflakes are like fingerprints – that no two are alike. I am not sure how people discover something this … or if they really have. Snowflakes tend to clump together – how do they keep them separated to study them? Snowflakes melt when I catch them – how do they preserve them to make the comparisons? Is it possible that they have simply studied a few and then developed a mathematical equation on the variables that justify their findings? I have no idea – it is a total mystery to me. So I visited the Smithsonian Science Education Center website for a little more information. And it sounds as though my theory was right! Listen to this: “While snowflakes can be sorted into about forty categories, scientists estimate that there are up to 10 to the 158th power snowflake possibilities. (That’s 10 to the 70th power more designs than there are atoms in the universe!).” In that same article, entitled “The Science of Winter” it also talks about how birds stay warm in the winter. After talking about their feathers it goes on to say, “Birds’ legs are also designed to stay warm! Veins and arteries in the leg are close to each other and as warm blood [travels to the legs], it then heats up the cold blood returning to the body. It’s brilliant!” While the article does not discuss how this could have randomly happened through evolution, these facts do get me thinking about Intelligent Design – the theory that applies mathematical odds to natural selection and concludes that there must be an intelligent cause behind it all. It’s all a mystery to me – and that’s OK by me! Thinking one way or the other does not alter the beauty I see in snowflakes or a winter cardinal. I like the way David puts it, “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.” (Psalm 19.1) Life is much easier when, like a child, I enjoy the beauteous mysteries and leave the worries and explanations in most instances to others. And so, of course, it is also true of our God. The Gospel contains much mystery … and I am generally pleased to simply enjoy them with childlike faith … even though in many ways there are more complex than snowflakes! And, I must say, more beautiful. With that said, I leave you with a few biblical references to snow(flakes): “’Come now, let us settle the matter,’ says the Lord. ‘Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow.’” (Isaiah 1.18) “Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.” (Psalm 51.7) “As I looked, thrones were set in place, and the Ancient of Days took his seat. His clothing was as white as snow.” (Daniel 7.9) “His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow.” (Matthew 28.3) “He spreads the snow like wool and scatters the frost like ashes.” (Psalm 147.6) Winter is here, my friends. It is likely that the snowflakes we see today will be with us for quite the while. We might as well stop fretting and enjoy their beauty … and all the mysteries of our gracious Lord and Savior, Jesus. |
Snowflakes
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