Monday, January 11, 2010

Question: Why - Ducks and Coats?

I think I was born saying "Why?" As a child, I wanted to know about everything. Then for a time, I stuffed (or tried to) that impulse - because "it's wrong to question everything." Thankfully, I realized questions aren't wrong - not being true to the way my creator made me is probably more harmful.

So today is a 'Question' post. I plan to do these every week. Sometimes the question will have more depth than others - depends what stirs my curiosity at the time.

Yesterday the sun was bright, but the temps never made it up to 30F degrees - they've been stuck in the 20's for the past week or two. I decided to go for a walk - figured if you can't beat it, why not join it? I walked around the lake at a local state park.

 Half of it was frozen.


 Half it was not frozen.

I was amazed at two things - the people braving the ice when half of the lake was not frozen and the birds braving the water when there was ice on half of it.

The people I won't even try to figure out ...

As I watched the ducks and geese, I was amazed how they could do that without freezing to death. They just flew or swam out there without having to put on anything to survive.

Before I ventured out into this tundra, I had to put on multiple layers to stay warm and survive.
  • A shirt and pair of leggings that wicks moisture away from my skin
  • Fleece shirt
  • Windbreaker coat and pants
  • Good socks
  • Sturdy shoes
  • Gloves
  • Beanie
  • Neck Gaiter (who's the genius that came up with that name?)
The ducks and geese naturally grow feathers needed to stay warm to live in this area, as do animals and other birds all over the planet. They have natural resources to survive the climate they live it. So applying that logic, it looks like I (and all people) should live in southern climates, where I can stay warm without needing to put on half a clothing store before venturing out.

And it made me wonder something about God and creation ...
We've all heard (and probably said0 how great it is that God made the animals with certain things to survive in the environments he placed them in. Fish have gills, birds have wings, ducks have feathers and on and on it goes.

So my question is ... why would a creator make half of his world an environment that his masterpiece creation cannot survive in naturally, but instead need all kinds of adaptions from houses to heaters to clothes simply to survive?

Why?

5 comments:

MICHELE CERVONE SCOTT said...

Wow, good question! And I'm a "why" person myself, by the way.

What came to mind for me was this: if we humans had everything we needed for life, we would have no reason to rely on our creator. What a blessing that He gives us needs and choices but also His presence and help in our lives.

Thanks for this though-provoking post!

Kelly Sauer said...

Is it possible that some of the climate issues resulted from the flood - and man's own sin? We didn't wear clothing until we sinned - there was obviously no need with God's original creation of man. I know there is a theory that there was an atmospheric water layer around the earth pre-flood, and that was loosed during the flood with all that rain. This would explain the enormous climate change the earth has experienced...?

Janet Oberholtzer said...

Michele - good point. Sweet - another why person!

Kelly - never thought of that. Great point, thanks for sharing ... now I have a new idea to mull over.

S. Etole said...

As I read this, my thinking went the direction Kelly's did ... creation groans

Tom said...

Good stuff, love questions like this.

When it comes to stuff like this, I tend to err on the side that humans have migrated to areas that they could live once they had the ability to adapt.

A long time ago, we tended to stay in warmer climates but as the Earth changed a bit through time, and as we've developed mechanisms and ways to handle more threatening weather, we're able to move into those areas.

It's true that animals have what they need to survive in the wild, but many of the migrate and hibernate at a certain point.