The Wonders of God’s Creation
“Many, O Lord my God, are Thy wonderful works which Thou hast done, and Thy thoughts which are to us-ward.” Psalms 40:5.
There are some 5000 kinds of mushrooms, with only a small number of them safe to eat. But all are interesting as part of God’s handiwork in creation. There are many shapes and sizes. Some are as large as bowling balls, while others are no larger than a common pin. They come in a great variety of colors —brown, black, blue, orange, green, violet, white, etc. Some grow on tall stems; others grow close to the ground or even under the surface.
Names given them include the huge puffball, weighing up to 20 pounds and each year producing millions of spores (seeds). Because of its distinctive color, one is called red blusher, another inky cap and another scarlet cup. This last one grows so close to the ground that it looks like a bright-red soup bowl.
The jack-o-lantern is a deep-orange color. Underneath the top, 100 or more paper-thin ribs spread out to form the base for its smooth topside. Turkey-tails grow on trees and stumps. Their undersides, colored like turkey feathers, contrast with a smooth white or tannish top.
Deadman’s finger looks like a dirty finger sticking out of the ground from a giant, buried hand. One, the horn of plenty, and another, the son of the woods, are found in great numbers. Then there is one with large outstretched petals, giving the appearance of a vegetable starfish. Another, spreading its petals on the ground, has a smooth, round center which looks like a bright-brown cookie.
One of the more common mushrooms in the western United States is the morel variety, soft-gray in color and often found in grassy meadows. This is one that is safe to eat and looks like a poorly folded miniature umbrella, full of odd-shaped spongy wrinkles.
These are just examples of a few, with others looking like closed umbrellas, open parachutes and many other shapes. But it cannot be stressed too much to leave all mushrooms alone, unless you are with a mushroom expert who can distinguish between poisonous and nonpoisonous ones. Eating only one of certain poisonous varieties is enough to cause a person’s death. Of course, those for sale in grocery stores are safe and make good eating.
In a way mushrooms provide an example of the two forces that are in the world — good and evil — and perhaps the Creator would like us to think of them that way. The Bible tells us to “Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good.” Romans 12:9. A person who knows the Lord Jesus Christ as his Saviour and commits his way to Him and turns to the Word of God, the Bible, for guidance in all affairs of life, will be given wisdom to recognize evil and abhor (stay away from) it, finding real pleasure in cleaving (holding tightly) to that which is good. But we need to continually ask God’s help to recognize these things, just as mushroom hunters need wisdom in the mushrooms they select.
ML-10/16/1988