I recently read the book ‘Remarkable Creatures,’ written by Tracey Chevalier. It is a fiction story about a factual character, Mary Anning. Mary lived in Lyme Regis, an English coastal town. She was groomed, by her father, to be a fossil collector. Together they attentively roamed the water’s shore. Mary’s father instilled in her an anticipation of one day finding the monster represented in the fossilized pieces. Mary developed a keen eye for fossils, seeing what others overlooked. She was among the first to find dinosaurs in the rocks and cliffs of Lyme Regis. Her discoveries changed the way people viewed the world.
Mary Anning’s long wandering walks with her father remind me of our calling to prayer. God, our father, wants us to see invisible realities. God wants to show us himself and his glory. In daily walks with the Father we develop an eye for his activities and his plans. The discoveries made in his presence effect change in us and our world. “Moses saw him who is invisible” (Hebrews 11:27). May our attentive walk with the Father lead to BIG discoveries and a greater passion to tell what has been seen.
