I was sad to hear that Crying Wind died. I had hoped to one day meet her. I often said, "I wish I could write like Crying Wind."
She was my favorite author. She could make me laugh and cry within the same chapter; sometimes the same page. Her relationships with her children, her friends and her neighbors inspired me to pay closer attention to my own relationships, but, even then, I just didn't have her warm way of caring or her funny sense of humor. She added so much to those around her.
As I remember all the family and friends that have passed on from this life, I know that no one can replace any of them. Each is unique and precious.
The same applies to you. No one on earth can be you but you. No one can replace what you add to our world because no one has your history, personality, gifts or talents like you.
I've often thought that the greatest miracle we can experience is to look at ourselves and those around us. How in the world can God take two eyes, a nose, a mouth, a couple ears and some hair and come up with billions of different people? Adding to that thought, we not only look different; we think differently. We approach life uniquely, and the most wonderful event happens when we mix a group of people together.
The apostle Paul said this to the Corinthian church: "Now the body is not made up of one part but of many. If the foot should say, 'Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,' it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. And if the ear should say, 'Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,' it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be" (1 Corinthians 12:14-18).
Trillions of cells make up our physical bodies. Depending on size and weight, men have about 36 trillion cells, and women have about 28 trillion cells. Dr. Christopher Baird explains, "Each of our cells begins with DNA so that the cell knows how to grow, function and reproduce."
Our red blood cells destroy their DNA after beginning so that they can carry more oxygen to the other cells. The cells that build our skin, hair and nails also get rid of their DNA after use to make room for keratin, which adds strength and toughness where needed.
According to the Cleveland Clinic, all of the other cells keep a "vast library of instruction manuals that determine how we will look, how our organs work and how we respond to different situations." Each of the trillions of cells has an identical library!
My mind cannot comprehend even this tiny, brief look at DNA. But even more incomprehensible to me, the One who designed everything came to Earth. He was born among the animals and was laid in a feed trough. I suppose this was appropriate for the Lamb of God.
He walked the dusty roads of Israel with friends that argued over who was greatest among them; one of them even betrayed Him to the religious leaders who plotted His crucifixion. He loved them, and He loves us. He chose us; He is looking for those who will love Him back.
Nothing compares with the awe of His presence. I really don't understand how the One who designed DNA so that billions of people are each unique and special died so that we could be a part of His family forever, but the more I study science and scripture, the more certain I am that Christ is not only our Creator but also our Savior.
Sue Carlisle grew up on the Wind River Reservation in Wyoming. An enrolled member of the Ponca Tribe of Nebraska, her passion is to encourage people to look at creation and see our awesome Creator.
Sue is author of Walking with
the Creator Along the Narrow
Road (see page 19). She and
her husband, Wes, now live
in Thunder Bay, Ontario.
