A Study in Strange Designs
The Duck
We ( or is it me?) often look at the duck 🦆 and think of peace. But as it is written in
Proverbs 14:4, "Where no oxen are, the crib is clean: but much increase is by the strength of the ox."
The duck is the "ox" of the pond. While the surface of the water is clean and still, the "crib" (the underwater part) is a chaotic mess of orange flippers. It’s a reminder that beauty requires a lot of invisible, frantic kicking. If you feel like you're working 10x harder than everyone else just to stay afloat, remember the duck: he’s a masterpiece, but he’s also a motorized paddleboat of anxiety beneath the wave!
The Giraffe
The Giraffe 🦒 I believe lives out the truth of
Isaiah 55:9: "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways..."
The Giraffe’s ways are definitely higher. About 18 feet higher! The Creator gave the giraffe a heart the size of a basketball just to pump blood up that long neck. (A BASKETBALL 🏀 that’s probably the size of my head!) It is a creature that proves God loves a "stretch goal."
However, when the Giraffe tries to drink water and has to do that "clumsy tripod" stance, I can see the humility mentioned in
Proverbs 16:18: "Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall."
Nothing keeps a 18 foot-tall animal humble like having to do a split just to get a sip of water! (Could not be me 🫣)
The Ostrich
If you ever feel like you don't make sense, look at the Ostrich. God actually takes credit for how weird this bird is in the Book of Job:
"The wings of the ostrich flap joyfully, though they cannot compare with the feathers and fan of the stork... God did not endow her with wisdom or give her a share of good sense." — Job 39:13, 17
Think about that! It’s right there in the Bible. God essentially said, "I made this bird fast and huge, but I did not give it a brain, and I’m okay with that!”
The Final Word
Next time you (more directed at myself!) look in the mirror and feel a bit "uncoordinated" or "awkward," just remember that the same God who carved the mountains also decided that a Platypus was a good idea!
As Psalm 104:24 says: "O Lord, how manifold are thy works! in wisdom hast thou made them all: the earth is full of thy riches." (Even the riches that look like they were made on a "Random Character Generator" at 2:00 AM.)
A Prayer for the Awkward and the Blessed
Lord,
We thank You today for Your divine sense of humor. Thank You for the duck that paddles frantically, the giraffe that trips over its own height, and the ostrich that... well, thank You for the ostrich, too! 🤣 We thank You that You didn't make a world of perfect, boring circles, but a world of platypuses and pufferfish. Help us to remember that when we feel awkward, uncoordinated, or "under construction," we are simply living out Your creative genius. Grant us the peace of the duck (even if we’re kicking like crazy underneath!), the perspective of the giraffe (to see above our current troubles), and the grace of the ostrich (to be happy even when we don't make sense). Remind us that if You have a purpose for a bird that can’t fly and a fish with a lightbulb on its head, You surely have a magnificent purpose for us.
Amen.