8-11-17
I was almost done with my 3 ½ mile walk. It wasn’t yet 8 a.m., but it was hot and muggy, and I was ready to be home. As I turned the corner onto my street, I saw something unusual in a neighbor’s yard. There were three mushrooms growing in a spot missed my their lawnmower. I kept my pace, turned the corner and then stopped. Something told me to go back and take a closer look.
Anybody driving by at the time probably got a chuckle at my undignified pose as I bent over to investigate. I listen to podcasts while I walk, so I had my phone; that means pictures.
These didn’t look like the ordinary toadstools I’ve seen in my yard. They hadn’t yet opened and so were perfectly round, snowy white, and textured. I decided to get closer, set my phone on the curb (that was even more undignified) and took the vertical shot above. It wasn’t until I got home and looked at that photo that I really appreciated what I had seen.
I was surprised by the delicacy and detail of the mushrooms in the photo. Color, shape, and texture combined to make something unexpectedly beautiful. They made me smile, and amazed me once again that God would put so much creativity into a an apparently insignificant thing. I’m glad I didn’t miss the mushrooms.
Nobody gets up in the morning and expects to be surprised by a fungus! I certainly didn’t. God often has these little treats for us. I think they’re His way of sharing His love and His work and making ordinary life a little more special.
I looked on the web to try to find out what kind of mushroom these are. I had trouble locating an image that seemed right. Eventually I found one, and if these are Amanita cokeri, they’re fairly rare. That only makes me more grateful that I followed the impulse to t go back and investigate.
God has so many sweet surprises for us. So often, all we need to do is pay attention and enjoy them.
7 “But ask the animals, and they will teach you,
or the birds in the sky, and they will tell you;
8 or speak to the earth, and it will teach you,
or let the fish in the sea inform you.
9 Which of all these does not know
that the hand of the Lord has done this?
Job 12:7-9New International Version (NIV)
References: Kuo, Michael (ND) Amanita cokeri . Retrieved 8-11-17 at MushroomExpert.com http://www.mushroomexpert.com/amanita_cokeri.html