Blog on the Lillypad
Wednesday, November 10, 2004
 | Even Solomon in all his glory...
One of the women at work has a calendar of hummingbirds. Yesterday it caught my eye, and I stopped and stared at the brilliant, iridescent glory of a frilled coquet hummingbird. It weighs about as much as a half dollar, and is crowned by a gold crest on the front of its head, its body brilliant green, with purple and azure tail feathers in a short, broad fan. All perfectly framed in this ultra-lightweight body with sparkling eye and swift-beating little heart. |
How many kings and princes have decked themselves out in similar array and succeeded only in appearing luxurious, self indulgent, and vulgar. Honestly, God will bestow glory where He sees fit, and He has arrayed these tiniest mites of creation with a splendour that no level of office or weight of gold in human exchange can attain.
Claire, the woman who owns the calendar, was surpised when I suddenly exclaimed, "How can anybody believe that such a creature evolved? If we were all lumpy things with fangs and claws, I could see how people could believe it, but what kind of evolution can produce this beauty in something so tiny? Look at that detail!" Claire didn't contradict me, and I think she respected my heartfelt wonder at this small speck of intricate and complex beauty. We looked closely at the tale feathers and found at least five shades of colore that ranged from a royal purple to deep azure.
But how, I thought, can man believe that accidental destiny ever formed this ornate and short-lived bird? And why would a system allegedly based on survival and efficiency spawn such a range of diveristry within one species? for hummingbirds are many, and varied.
