Mysterious and Common
Ordinary yet remarkably extraordinary. There is nothing more familiar or more mysterious than;
The Human Body.
“Do you want to sit down and watch this program I recorded last week” my husband inquired?
His invitation surprised me. I don’t watch much television and usually don’t watch the war documentaries he likes to watch. Guys…. What is it about men and war games? Go figure!!! *grin*
We sat down together in the family room. He hit play on the remote and for the next hour and forty-five minutes our eyes were riveted to the screen as we watched a documentary about the human body.
I was mesmerized with the intricacies of our physical body.
Our human bodies are only bits of stardust, comprised of three common compounds, carbon, oxygen, hydrogen. We are a handful of minerals worth less than $20 in your local hardware store. Yet,
WE ARE PRICELESS!
As you read these very words consider this. Our entire world is contingent upon two small gelatinous orbs! They enable us to judge distance, perceive depth, and navigate our fast-paced world. Our eyes contain 120 million photoreceptors that convert light into electrical impulses which jet off to the brain in a fraction of a second.
Ears, our body’s megaphones. They allow us to interpret sound waves rippling through the air traveling at 750 miles per hour as well as give us balance. Tiny little tubes orient us to our surroundings. Fascinating!
Did you know our nose distinguished over 10,000 different odors? Our little nose, or perhaps large nose, contains 10 billion receptor cells. They signal the brain to determine calm or caution also delight or disgusting, depending on how recent the baby’s diaper was changed.
How do you power over a trillion cells in the human body? With blood. One gallon of blood travels through 60 thousand miles of arteries, veins, and capillaries then returns to our ten-ounce heart in less than a minute. I am astounded by the power of this small organ.
The muscular system is brilliant. Our nervous system, a marvel and don’t even get me started about our brain. Scientists have yet to understand our three pound brain. I watched, I learned and I sat in awe. The design of our body and the ability of all parts to work in harmony shout of intelligent design. When you wrap your mind around the genius of this creation it can only lead you to one place – GOD!
Our complex systems of operation confound even the wisest. Our everyday common body is an absolute miracle.
As the program ended, I looked over to my unbelieving husband and said, “This is so fantastic how could one not believe in God?”
He looked at me and smiled.
My husband hears this statement from me on a regular basis. I just can’t help myself. The wonder and evidence of God I recognize all around me. I see it in the stars on a warm summer night. I hear God’s voice in the song of a Mockingbird. My brain explodes when I study the complexities of our earths orbit and the exactness required to sustain life on this planet. (Don’t get me going on this one. I will save it for another day.)
Psalm 119:73 (NKJV) Your hands have made me and fashioned me;
Give me understanding, that I may learn Your commandments.
Lord, I pray that we your children will experience a moment of awe this Christmas season. Blow our minds with the fantastic truth of your creation. Fill our hearts with your mind-blowing love sent as a baby born into a cold stable. Give us opportunities to share it with this world which, amazingly, still doubts there is a Creator. In Jesus name, Amen.
Many thanks to the National Geographic Channel for airing such a profound program, The Incredible Human Machine.
His Creation, all of it, is simply amazing! I agree, how could one not believe? I think it takes more faith to believe it all just happened than a loving God fashioned it all!
What a beautiful post Lynn! So many times we lose our sense of awe and wonder in our bodies and all of God’s creation. It’s great to have a reminder once in a while of the miracle of it all.
Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving.
Beautiful my friend.
Lynn
Thanks for sharing your excitement and amazement. Yes indeed the human body is a wonder.
A lot of complexity can happen from a few simple forces and elements. As you say, we are all made of star stuff, the same basic molecules can be rearranged into infinite combinations. You eat cereal, milk oats, and raisins, and within 24 hours you have some new blood, muscle, fat, and bone cells in Lynn, with Lynn’s DNA, that can be replicated over and over again.
Of course, the human body didn’t just pop up out of thin air. Three billion years of environmental forces on life on earth helped. Once life started, it took 1 billion years for the second type of bacteria to show up. The miracle of evolution didn’t really get going until life found a way to change itself to deal with likely environmental changes.
For example, back to eating. Don’t eat for a while, and your gut sends signals to your brain. The brain sends signals (these are chemical signals), to the body via the blood stream. Receptor enzymes in cells have the matching chemical bond to the brains signal. The other end of the enzyme inside the cell acts like a simple tool, and it changes shape, which makes it link with an enzyme inside the cell.
This action creates a request for the cell to store more fat (because you are starving). That’s done by a process of making a copy of your DNA, then breaking it apart, with an other enzyme, taking the gene string that is the model of the fat storing enzyme, and turning it on. Enzymes, the tools and engineers of the body, are made from proteins, which are almost like life, made from those simple star molicules. DNA is a whole bunch of model tools, the blueprints for enzymes, strung together in a closet, ready to be pulled out whenever the body needs to replace a tool that’s worn out or get a new tool because the environment has changed.
Isn’t that amazing! Chemicals became life. Well very simple life, and everything on the planet earth, non-living and living, is made of those simple molecules from stars. What is so amazing is that life, under extreme pressure, and over billions of years, figured a way out to keep a toolbox in every cell so it could change itself.
I’m not sure which saying applies: Where there’s a will, there’s a way, or where there’s a way, there’s a will. All life seems to have a life force in it. A motivation to keep living. That’s amazing too.
Anyway, even more amazing is that our Earth is on the outskirts of our galaxy, far from the middle, from other solar systems. And, our galaxy, with it’s 10 billion stars, is on the outskirts of the universe, with it’s 100 billion galaxies, each with billions of stars. At the middle of galaxies are black holes, and at the middle of the universe is a giant black hole, sucking in stars and galaxies, and spiting out star dust that later becomes stars and planets. About 13.7 billion years ago, that giant black hole exploded and sent matter flying into space. Eventually, the expansion will slow to a stop, and begin to slowly swirl back into the giant black hole.
Simple things that become complex things, like a spinning universe, or a human body. We marvel at the synchronization of geese in flight, yet a computer program shows that it only take a few simple rules simulate the precision and coordination of the flock.
Maybe when crow lands on your house, it means bad luck is coming, but I think not. Maybe when a black cat crosses your path, even more bad luck is coming, but probably not.
Maybe when mockingbird sings, its a perfect example of a mockingbird singing. When a flower opens it’s an example of a flower opening. When enzymes convert Lynn’s breakfast into Lynn, it is an example of metabolism.
Maybe whenever we see something amazing it means there’s a Him. Maybe something amazing is just something amazing in itself, an example of simplicity able to create infinity, to be appreciated for what it is.
I really appreciate people like you Lynn, who see the beauty and amazing world and worlds all around us. When we focus on wonders, we appreciate how precious life is, and how short our lives are relative to our world. We are more like flower blossoms that bloom and fade, than like mighty mountains. We have the ability to think, wonder, and appreciate. How cool is that?
Have an amazing, wonderful day, Lynn.
Michael
Only God. I am like you when i see, smell, or hear all I can do is praise, thank God, and praise some more. Thank you for reminding me how great God is.
Michael – thank you for stopping by Laced with Grace. We appreciate that you took the time to share your version of miracles. I really don’t want to start a discussion on our team blog, where we share our faith in God, our redemption in Christ Jesus, a life everlasting. We see the human body as a beautiful creation of God (Psalm 139).
Again, we thank you for your comment here…Maybe one day you will pick up His Word and find Truth.
Well…that was an amazing post Lynn. The blessings of God are incredible and all around us—you gave us an insight into the details and care He took with each of us! Thank you for that sweet friend! Amazing post!
We are specially made by the Lord to honor him, to share his pleasure.
How wonderful of our body.
Good post. You make some great points that most people do not fully understand.
“As you read these very words consider this. Our entire world is contingent upon two small gelatinous orbs! They enable us to judge distance, perceive depth, and navigate our fast-paced world. Our eyes contain 120 million photoreceptors that convert light into electrical impulses which jet off to the brain in a fraction of a second.”
I like how you explained that. Very helpful. Thanks.