God's Fingerprints

Fingerprints are a part of my life. When my children were toddlers, our glass-topped coffee table always was smudged with their little handprints, as was the sliding glass door leading to the patio. As they grew older, they targeted walls, light switches, and bathroom mirrors. And how about those archways leading from one room to the next? We even discovered them on my kitchen ceiling. (I have very tall children.)

As Grandma I don’t mind fingerprints so much. I received many gifts with imprints of the grandkids’ hands or feet. I have necklaces with thumbprints of newborns, Christmas ornaments of little hands, and my favorite, ten garden stepping stones with the hands and feet of all the grandchildren when they were little.

God has his fingerprints all over us and often we don’t realize it. When I look, really look, for the fingerprint of God, the first thing that comes to mind is Creation. The magnificence of the earth points me toward God who created beauty, science, and order.

I am awed when I consider the animals instinctively know how to survive and care for their young:

•  How do the salmon know to swim upstream to the spot of their conception?
• How does the mother bear learn to protect her cubs from predators and train them in the art of finding food?
• Who teaches the penguins to keep their eggs tucked underneath their warm fur to avoid freezing? And isn’t it great that both Mama and Papa Penguin share in this difficult task!

Another divine fingerprint is watching a child learn new things. A developing brain is an affirmation of the God of the Universe. So are art and music. Beautiful music is composed and performed by those gifted by God with a love for harmony and with abilities unknown to most of us. The artist who combines color and form into unbelievable pieces also is a reflection of God.

As you go about your day, look for the fingerprints of God. They're all around you. Call them divine smudges!