Who cares for me?

A group of ladybirds is called a loveliness of ladybirds.  Every autumn they congregate together in a sheltered place, and there they remain until the first warm days of spring when they emerge to begin foraging for food once again. 

And it is always intriguing how snails gather together under an up turned flower pot.  Did you know they can sleep like this for up to three years almost glued to the pot in such a way that they cannot evaporate, then they awake and no-one really knows why. There are times when slugs find each other and follow down the path as if they are doing the conga.  Even if you separate them somewhat, they come back to together very quickly! What is all that about?

What about the larvae of the cicadas of the warmer latitudes?   Some remain in the ground for 13 years and then, when the temperature reaches about 28C on the year that is ‘theirs’ they emerge, and some years a different variety of Cicada appears that has been underground for 17 years.  They are not forgotten.  During that time, they do not just exist, but they are living their lives.  Then, on the days of that ‘special year’ when they feel the call of the sunshine and the warmth they emerge.  And especially if the time coincides for both kinds to come up together, the countryside is alive with sound as they seek to mate and begin the cycle all over again.  But why wait for so long?

What does the Bible say about these things in nature?  God said to Job about the goats and the deer.  ‘Knowest thou the time when the wild goats of the rock bring forth? Or canst thou mark when the hinds do calve?  Canst thou number the months that they fulfil?’  Job 39:1-2.

Have you ever wondered if there is anyone who cares for you?  All the things of nature were designed by God.  He brought them all into existence with all their interdependence and their intricate designs of feathers and scales and different living spaces – air and sea and water and earth.  This same God chose to make human beings in His own image, with reasoning powers and free will and the ability to respond to spiritual things not just food and drink and sleep and reproduction. 

This same God did not just make us, wind us up and leave us, but caused words to be written down for us to tell us that He loves us, that He cares for all our daily needs.  In fact, He points to the flowers and reminds us that He cares for them too, so we are to trust Him and obey Him and He will watch over our lives and care for us, even in the hard times.  He tells us to lay our burdens on Him and be at peace for He is only the breath of a stumbling prayer away from us.  This should give us confidence and love and gratitude.