Photo by Erin E. Photography
I have always wanted to travel the world—to meet people, learn about different cultures, but most of all to experience the natural beauty of the world: The Great Barrier Reef, Northern Lights, Grand Canyon, Victoria Falls, Mount Everest, beaches of Fiji, and on and on. For years I prayed that God would allow me to stand in awe of His beautiful creation. I haven’t yet been to any of these places, and although I haven’t given up on this dream, I realize now that God answered my prayer without traveling the world. This started to become clear to me when I read a quote from Saint Augustine:
“Men go abroad to wonder at the height of mountains, at the huge waves of the sea, at the long courses of the rivers, at the vast compass of the ocean, at the circular motion of the stars; and they pass by themselves without wondering.”
For years I taught human anatomy to undergraduate, medical, and dental students. This involved both lecturing in the classroom and teaching in the laboratory by dissection of human cadavers. Shortly after I read that quote, I was teaching students about the small intestine. The small intestine is responsible for absorbing nearly all the nutrients in the food we eat. The lining of the small intestine is thrown into many visible folds which increase the surface area significantly. Each fold is covered with little finger-like projections, called villi, which further increase the surface area. Finally, the villi are covered with cells that have bristle-like extensions—a brush border—further increasing the surface area. The whole system is set up for maximum absorption of nutrients. Structure is beautifully related to function. The engineering is magnificent, as is the engineering throughout the whole body.
Another example is that the male pelvis is narrow with a heart-shaped opening, while the female pelvis is much broader with a round opening to allow passage of a baby’s head during birth.
The pupils of our eyes are encircled by tiny muscles that contract and relax at just the right time to dilate and constrict our pupils to let in just the right amount of light so that we can see.
I could go on and on. There are so many examples. The human body is an exquisite creation and there is a marvelous unseen orchestra underway every minute of every day inside of us. It is simply amazing the way everything works together, from our organs, to our cells, to the chemicals released, so that we can eat and breathe and laugh and think and walk and love. Day after day in the gross anatomy lab, I HAD stood in awe of God’s beautiful creation, the human body. God HAD answered my prayer. It just wasn’t the way in which I had anticipated it. David said it best in Psalms 139:13-14: “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.”
A Million God Stories is a Christ-centered ministry which offers a platform for Christians from all streams of Christian faith to give praise for how God has worked in their lives. Christ heals in infinitely creative ways and we acknowledge that His way of helping may differ from person to person.
