(Raspberries, Eggs, and Okra Blossoms)

On any ‘normal day’ our world is filled with mundane, maddening, and miraculous events and opportunities. What can we focus on? What might surprise us? What simply presented itself and took our breath away? Anything? I’m amazed at the simple beauty, symmetry, and luscious taste of a raspberry. Did you know that each raspberry has over 100 drupelets?

I’m so glad all eggs aren’t the same color. Boring! It’s fascinating to look at their variety in size and color. The reality of the miraculous shell and its treasure inside is easy to overlook. I could simply scramble, poach, or fry these eggs – and never know what kind of eggs they were. But it’s amazing to stop and take the time be engulfed in a sense of wonder at the simple beauty sitting right in front of me.

“There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal.”  C.S.Lewis

How does this turn into an okra that I love to eat? I can become so focused on the ‘finished product’ on my plate that I don’t take time to think about how it evolved from seed to plant to bloom to vegetable. I miss so much when I just eat it and think ‘yum’.

But looking at raspberries, eggs, and okra on this one ordinary morning serves to awaken me out of a digitally-infused, hectic, challenging world which could easily engulf me into a mindless, daily, wonder-removed existence.

The basic reality of God is plain enough. Open your eyes and there it is! By taking a long and thoughtful look at what God has created, people have always been able to see what their eyes as such can’t see: eternal power, for instance, and the mystery of his divine being. (from the Book of Romans)