By Don Marsh–As we enter the summer months, we are getting outside, enjoying the flora and fauna of our Rocky Mountains. After being quarantined for months, to be able to enjoy God’s creation in person is a such a blessing. I love one quaint passage in Proverbs that praises some of God’s small creatures.

Four things there are which are smallest on earth yet wise beyond the wisest:
ants, a folk with no strength, yet they prepare their store of food in the summer
rock-badgers, a feeble folk, yet they make their home among the rocks
locusts, which have no king, yet they all sally forth in formation;
the lizard, which can be grasped in the hand, yet is found in the palaces of kings.
— Proverbs 30:24-28 REB

There are more than 20,000 species of ants in the world, with dozens in Colorado. They build intricate colonies, with different rooms for different functions. They seem to be always moving, working together in an amazing division of labor. Some species store up food for the winter or fatten up so they won’t need to eat during the cold months.

In our area, the pika is most similar to the biblical badgers (called “conies” in the King James Version).  Pikas are small relatives of rabbits that live at or above timberline, protected from the elements and predators by building dens in the talus, or loose rock. They seldom venture far from their secure homes.

It is reported that in 1875 a swarm of Rocky Mountain locusts (now extinct) streamed overhead for five days, blotting out the sun. Composed of 10 billion individuals, the swarm devoured as much vegetation as a massive herd of bison. Experts at the time estimated that the swarm was 1,800 miles long and at least 110 miles wide, large enough to cover Wyoming and Colorado.

There are several varieties of lizards in the geographical area of the Rocky Mountain Conference. The horned toad is even the state reptile of Wyoming. An impressive characteristic of lizards is their ability to camouflage themselves by changing body color and sometimes body patterns to blend with their background. Some species can walk on walls, and have no qualms about sneaking into people’s houses, whether king or pauper.

So, what is the lesson of these wisest of the wise? The ant knows that now is the time to prepare for the future. Conies know they are not strong by themselves but dwell securely in the place God prepared for them. Locusts know they must work together. One locust is harmless. Working together in a swarm, they are a mighty army. By ourselves, we can do little. Cooperating with God, we can do more than we could ask or think. Lizards seem out of place in a palace. We may think we don’t belong either, but Jesus promised he has a room for you in his house.

–Don Marsh, is chaplain at Good Samaritan Medical Center, Lafayette, Colorado.