Written while waiting for an oil change at Tires Plus.
I'm dazzled by bananas. The engineering that went into these delicious, snack-sized treats is incredible. Think for a moment about the ergonomic qualities of the banana: the smooth yet solid packaging, the "tab" at the top that can be easily pulled to open the package, the perforation that allows the parts of the packaging to be easily pulled back without scissors, the way it curves toward the mouth when held in the hand, the incredible vitamin and potassium content packed inside, the built-in freshness indicator that works like a battery level indicator but without having to squeeze two tiny buttons most fingers are too big to control.
Whoever designed the banana should really get one of those product design awards. It's sheer genius.
I fear we've stopped being dazzled by the small stuff. I delight in the banana today only because I read an eloquent opening to a chapter of God Doesn't Believe in Atheists that contained the same illustration. I'm not conditioned to think about bananas, about the design of things that are freely given to us. I'm not conditioned to look at a mountain range and see God's artistry, much less a small piece of fruit that sells for 49¢ per pound at Publix.
I'm conditioned to look at man's accomplishments in awe and wonder. To look at buildings and cars and sleek Apple laptops and diamond rings and shiny things as if I was staring into the face of God Himself. I rarely look at the things freely given with such admiration as I do the things bought and manufactured by men.
When was the last time you looked at a pea pod and wondered at the Architect who designed it? Or climbed a mountain and realized you were in the midst of something no human could ever dream of creating?
I am visiting North Carolina this weekend and am sure that there will be times when I will be resigned to sit in awe at the Creation that surrounds me. I can't wait to look at the waterfall as the uncanny work of physics that it is, and listen to the chorus of the forest realizing that it's God's symphony being played.
Praise God for frogs and bananas and small things.