Rattlesnakes, Armadillos, and Boars… Oh My! – Mary Henderson
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Rattlesnakes, Armadillos, and Boars… Oh My!

15 Dec Rattlesnakes, Armadillos, and Boars… Oh My!

Posted at 21:09h in Necessary Life Skills by
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December 15, 2011

Austin, Texas is a city of amazing diversity and ingenuity!

Having just moved here from California six months ago, I’m tremendously enjoying the plethora of variety that can be found here.

At a recent holiday dinner at a local restaurant, my son delighted in ordering the Diamond Back Rattlesnake Cake in a Pistachio Nut Crust Coiled Atop a Spicy Chipotle Cream. Yes, one of the ingredients was an actual rattlesnake. And it was tasty! My other son couldn’t resist ordering the Wild Boar Quesadilla with Goat Cheese, Pickled Onions, Avocado and Pineapple Pico. Yes, the wild boar had been obtained locally. It was delicious!

And armadillos… I actually saw canned armadillo meat for sale amidst various holiday gift offerings at a shop, though I didn’t sample it. But the bodily appearance of these comical creatures testifies to the diversity I’m talking about. Just visualize in your mind’s eye the physical appearance of a rattlesnake, a wild boar, and an armadillo.

When I do this, it draws my heart to worship God…these creatures display God’s amazing mind of variety, creativity, and ingenuity in coming up with such diverse inventions, then making them out of nothing! And these are only three out of his kajillion different creations. On top of that, no two individual creations are ever exactly alike.

At the beginning of this new year, I feel God calling me to return to the “first love” relationship I had with him in the beginning, just as he asked of the church at Ephesus in Revelation 2:4 – 5. I long to regain the sweet, simple affection I’ve experienced with him in the past, and the amazing thing is, he longs for that too. One of the ways I fan the flame of my love for him is by contemplating and savoring his specific attributes:

  • the fact that he knows everything: is infinitely intelligent
  • he’s everywhere: in Texas, China, Saturn, and in me
  • he’s good, kind, gentle: how could I not be attracted to him?
  • and yes, he is astoundingly creative: from boars, to rattlesnakes, to armadillos

So as I see diversity all around me, this is drawing my heart to the One who created everything and who loves to enjoy it with us. God “richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.” (I Timothy 6:17)

And there is much to enjoy on this planet, drawing our hearts to the Mastermind of it all.