Beauty and Order in God’s Creation

I grew up in a family interested in science. My sister had a rock tumbler she used fairly often, hidden in the basement so we didn’t have to listen to the constant knocking of rocks against the sides. I bought almost every kind of pet my mom would allow me to have, and received a telescope from my dad for Christmas one year. My dad chased down thunderstorms in the summer and still keeps careful track of the weather year-round. A barometer passed down for a few generations in his family hangs on my parents living room wall, which my dad still adjusts every day.

I remember standing outside in the yard with my sister, looking up at the clear, blue sky, and wondering what would happen if the earth suddenly lost its atmosphere. I stood in awe of the fact that we lived on the face of a magma-filled rock traveling through outer space at an unimaginably fast velocity. Our lives seemed so fragile, and the world they inhabited even more so. One wrong chemical reaction could change the course of history forever.

As an adult, this curiosity stays with me, but now I better understand how to frame all of my questions in the loving care of a sovereign God. His beauty and order shines through in all of creation, and I love to study every detail of the amazing world He made and sustains. Science points us to our creative, wonderful Creator, and the more we study, the more we see His hand at work in the world.

Have you ever studied the intricate formation of ice crystals on a window, or the perfect symmetry in leaves of every size and shape? Did you know that every flower of each different kind always has the same number of petals, except in very rare circumstances? God plans all of those details, even the unusual four-leaf clover.

He created not one, but several unique ecosystems and environments. He takes care of everything from dry deserts to rainy rainforests. He even created animals that can live and thrive in each one. Bacteria roam the hottest parts of the ocean and also make their home inside our bodies. All of our cells work together as an entire system in an amazing display of innovation and design. God molds us and makes us, and builds a place for us to live.

God keeps the planets aligned around the sun and moving through the universe at the optimal speed for life on Earth. The sun crests the horizon every morning and makes way for the stars and moon each night. We experience events like brilliant meteor showers, the sweeping greens, pink, and whites of the northern lights, and stunning solar eclipses. God can even stop the daily march of time to accomplish His good purposes (Joshua 10). God’s mercies are new every morning (Lamentations 3:22-23) and because of His grace we rise to rejoice in another day.

Studying nature also helped me as I recovered from postpartum depression and anxiety. One of the worst symptoms of my anxiety was something called derealization (when you feel like the world is not real). One way to combat derealization is to take the time to observe every detail of your surroundings, including colors, shapes, textures, and sounds. The outdoors is the perfect place to do this because God created such a vivid, lively world. I remember peering at the hidden colors of the inside of a flower and noting the detailed patterns found in the feathers of birds. I gradually began to feel the realness of the world again as I saw God’s care in all of creation.

Oh, magnify the Lord with me; let us exalt his name together!

Psalm 34:3