A Thumbnail Viewpoint

A Thumbnail Viewpoint

Lost Trail by Superior

Thumbnail of a cactus

A thumbnail with a yellow flower

a thumbnail with an unusual rock

a thumb next to a raccoon footprint

a thumb next to a tarantula hole

We woke early to outrace the heat on a predicted 100-degree day. We drove east toward Superior, Arizona, close to Picketpost Mountain.

Sometimes a day is meant for focusing on the very grand.

And sometimes the day is best when focused on the small. The very small.

A thumbnail of small.

A tiny cactus. A yellow flower.

A raccoon footprint. An usual rock.

A tarantula's hole.

Reverend William Paley, the writer of Natural Theology in 1802, was fascinated, not just of the overall beauty of nature, but specifically, in the marriage of design and function, what he called the "argument from design." This union, he believed, pointed to an intelligent designer.

Paley believed the complexity of creation not only pointed to a designer, but spoke of God's kindness and care.

"The hinges in the wings of an earwig, and the joints of its antennae, are as highly wrought as if the Creator had had nothing else to finish," Paley wrote."We see no signs of diminution of care by multiplication of objects, or of distraction of thought by variety. We have no reason to fear, therefore, our being forgotten, or overlooked, or neglected." 

Each small thumbnail bit of creation has been designed as if God had nothing better to do with His time. A foot meant for grasping. An underground home for hiding from desert heat. A yellow center for attracting insects.

Creation constantly points us, not only to a God who can, but a God who cares.

Today, if you are overwhelmed by the very much too big, get down low and examine the small.

What is in your thumbnail world?

Quotes are from the book Inside the Mind of God: Images and Words of Inner Space by Michael Reagan. The thoughts of William Paley are from the introduction by Sharon Begley.