The Home Life of the Beaver
Ecclesiastes 3:20-21
“All go unto one place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again. Who knoweth the spirit of man that goeth upward, and the spirit of the beast that goeth downward to the earth?”
Frequent excursions into the Mount St Helens National Volcanic Monument bring me regularly into areas populated by beavers. Many of the ponds around the Hummocks show signs of beaver activity. One notable dam, which I often see on the trail, is over four feet high, and is easily over 50 feet long. When I show this to people on the excursions, I sometimes joke that the accompanying lodge might be inhabited by Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy! These were the four heroes of C.S. Lewis’s masterpiece, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, and there is a familiar scene, recognized by most of my guests, where the four children are entertained, on entering Narnia, by Mr. and Mrs. Beaver.
Lewis was right to allude to the marvelous construction abilities of these animals. A previous Creation Moment described their building techniques, and reported that dams even bigger than the one that I know about are possible. As one approaches the beaver pond, we often see trails of flattened grass running down the slope to the banks of the pond. Beavers do not drag the logs that they cut straight to the dam. They drag them the shortest distance possible to the pond— hence the little trails—then float them to their construction site.
God has made these creatures. But in His word, He emphasizes that He considers us so much higher than these charming and intelligent creatures. It is only mankind, who has been made in the image of God.
Prayer: Thank You, Father, for making animals, like beavers. But thank You that You count us as so much higher, made in Your image. Help us to remember the ways, in which we differ from the animals, and help us to praise You as we ought. Amen.
Ref: Wikipedia: < https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beaver >, accessed 05/23/2017.
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