adaptation

I was outside this past Sunday night enjoying the beautiful weather. As I was looking around, I noticed a spider web built on our swingset. At first, of course I thought "eww, sick." But then I got to thinking further about spiders, and then, wild animals in general. Pretty much from the beginning of time, animals have been adapting to the environment around them. God placed them on the earth, knowing where they belong, and where they would be able to survive. But as time went on, humans have been constantly changing the environment, causing the animals to have to re-adapt to a different environment.

For instance, one time when I went out to go on the swings, there was a giant spider hanging out in his web on the swing. I, again, thought "eww, sick." Then I took a huge stick and destroyed the web and threw the stick as far away as possible. A few days later, I notic the same spider had built a new web, only it was underneath the main platform of the swingset. I had completely destroyed this spider's home, and he adapted to the environment by simply building a new web in a different spot.

Another example of this would be deforestation. All the animals that live in the forests, or woods, keep having to re-adapt to a new environment because their homes keep getting destroyed because humans keep adapting the environment for our convenience.

We all (animals and humans alike) have a process of adaptation, but instead of us humans adapting, we just change things so that they adapt to us. Causing every other living creature to have to keep adapting the more we keep changing the environment.

I don't really have a point to this whole story, it's pretty much an observation. I'm no environmentalist either. I'm also not saying that we should all tear down all man-made things and start adapting with the environment. (Cause not many of us would survive, unless we are like those in the Hunger Games). I'm just kind of making a point of how amazing animals. No matter what we (as a human race) do to the environment, no matter how many animal homes are destroyed, or how much food is taken away, animals have managed to survive through it all.

Then I got to thinking even further if humans are capable of anything like that. Of course! How many natural disasters has the human race gone through. Hurricanes, tornadoes, fire, floods, etc. all have destroyed homes and forced people to rebuild. I have never believed that natural disasters were a "punishment" from God, just like sickness is not a punishment. It may make people cry out to Him for help more, but He doesn't cause them to get more attention. They are "natural" disasters, they are going to happen, there's not stopping them. But it does make me think, just like we make other creatures re-adapt to the environment, we are also forced to re-adapt because of these natural disasters. Does that put us on the same level as animals? Of course not, but it does make us feel the same way animals feel when their homes are destroyed.

So, as I was typing this, I did come up with a point to this whole observation. Through it all, no matter how much we change the environment, how many natural disasters we go through, how much we all have to adapt, God is always showing how much control He has.  No matter how much we try to adapt the environment to us, no matter how strong this man-made stuff is, God still has more power over all of it, and us. Just like when He sunk the Titanic (the "unsinkable" ship).

God is a powerful God, yet He is a merciful God.

No matter what, God is in control.