My friend and I hiked on Boston Hill again a few days ago, and a number of things caught our attention along the way. Some of our discoveries didn’t photograph so well, such as drops of dew shining on the soft leaves of a mullein plant but, in one photo, I was able to capture the tiny face of a grasshopper hiding within the inner leaves of a plant. Judging from the lacy appearance of the leaves on surrounding specimens, this grasshopper, along with its comrades, had been munching on the other mullein plants in the area and was now going to start in on this one.
What I had not expected, until I downloaded the images at home and saw them full-screen, was the unique beauty in each mullein leaf. I found myself thinking of Velcro or fleece as I observed the texture of these mullein leaves close up. In fact, with their coating of damp dew, they felt more like a very soft towel when I touched one during our hike. They also appear fairly weighty in this photograph, yet in person they felt light as the proverbial feather, and while they look almost white in this close-up, they are in fact a lovely pale green which stood out strongly against their red-rock surroundings.
When did you last take time to really observe something you came across, with more than one of your senses? So often we see something—and keep right on going. Yet every bit of God’s creation, all around us, is full of wonder if we will only take the time to really slow down and investigate. I encourage you to do that this week. Take time to get to know some small thing at a new level.
And then, take time to give thanks to our Creator for the incredible and innumerable gifts we have been given!
