As it often happens some remarkable discoveries occur during the most common of activities. And I find that God often has a wonderful surprise to show me or simply a good moment to brighten my day, or perhaps a little lesson to learn from the vast classroom of God’s creation. The other day was no exception.
We had been clearing a tall skinny spruce that had fallen across our path. What could be more common up here? The wooded areas are full of tall tightly growing trees, they grow so tall so quickly competing for sunlight; the soil is so scant, just a few inches deep for them to get a toe hold; the winds are so strong, and trees come down. And when they fall they frequently get hung up tangled in others.
So I thought there was nothing surprising on that day when we got the bow saw out to do a little maintenance. The tree came down the rest of the way with ease, but the walking through the moss-covered forest floor pulling the brushy tree top was no easy task and disturbed quite a bit of the area. Again no surprises, we have done this a hundred times before either because of windstorms or even during our firewise clearing.
As I pulled the wide awkward load uphill to my brush pile I heard Janet call out behind me, “Come here, I found a salamander.” So I dropped the treetop and went to see the discovery.
Some of you may not think this is such an amazing discovery. You might not think there is a “God sighting” in the moss. Maybe you don’t even like little lizard-like creatures. Maybe you are a bit squeamish around small shiny things that look slimy. Or maybe you might think that is not much of a discovery, after all salamanders are fairly common in the boreal forest.
But for us it was a discovery that made us smile, it was completely enjoyable, marvelously unexpected, and beautifully delicate. This little creature was just about three inches long from nose to tail. It was jet black with pale blue spots. Its skin was shiny black, so black it was amazing. The spots were just beautiful, an opalescent blue. The spots stood out so remarkably it looked like they glowed.
It had been hiding beneath a piece of an old birch stump left over from a tree we had taken down a few years back. With the piece of wood dislodged from the cradle of thick moss that was growing around it we could see that the salamander had found a well-protected moist little home. We didn’t disturb the little creature any more than to admire it for a moment.
I wondered about God’s design to have evolved such a tiny little thing to be part of the boreal forest floor. What is its role in God’s carefully crafted ecosystem? How could it survive this past winter? Where would it find a mate? And then with great care we put the piece of birch gently back on the cradle of moss. I’m sure that the little salamander would soon look for a new undisturbed home.
When I was young I used to look for salamanders. My friends and I actually were quite successful finding and catching those slow-moving creatures that lived in the window wells of our homes in southern Minnesota. Those salamanders were much bigger, not so shiny and the spots were a dusty white. And I’m sure that the salamanders of my childhood didn’t live long after we had collected our menagerie to show our parents.
This little one as one of God’s creatures brought me to a passage of the Bible. Although there are no salamanders mentioned in God’s Word, as a little jewel of a creature it got me thinking about God’s questions to Job. “Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell me if you have understanding. Who determined its measurements – surely you know!” Job 38:1.
Every day we witness something that extols God’s greatness, mystery, creativity. We simply receive all this stunning diversity and goodness. With eyes open to God’s surprises we then can add our praise.
Each month a member of the Cook County Ministerium will offer Spiritual Reflections. This month our contributor is Reverend Mark Ditmanson of Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Grand Marais.
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