As I was contemplating what to write for this post, my eyes landed on a banana on my kitchen counter.

My first thought? Why is it yellow?

Not, what is the chemical reason that bananas turn yellow but, why, out of all the colors in the world is a banana yellow?

And then that got me thinking about all the colors in our world and how there are so many. God chose to make colors — and he wouldn’t have had to. Or at the very least, not the infinite number that he did. Amazing!

In the same way, I’m amazed by the number of elements that make up the Periodic Table. Some of the elements are common to us — we know about Oxygen, Sodium, Chlorine, and Gold. They have common uses.

But what about Ytterbium? Or Erbium? Or how about Holmium? (Holmium is one of my favorites because it reminds me of my last name.)

• Ytterbium is a bright silver heavy metal element named after a small Swedish town called Ytterby. It can be used in scientific fiber lasers.
• Erbium (also found in Sweden) has pretty pink ions that have fluorescent properties. These make it especially useful for optical fiber communications.
• Holmium is a silvery-white rare earth metal. This metal is unique in that it has special magnetic properties. These properties make it useful in alloys for the production of magnets.

Did you know these elements existed? More importantly, what does the fact that these elements DO EXIST say about the kind of God we serve?

What does it say about the God we serve that Erbium has pink ions? What does it say about the God we serve that Holmium has magnetic properties? What does it say about the God we serve that bananas are yellow? What does it say about the God we serve that He made such a vast spectrum of colors?

Such variety! Such playfulness! Such grand creativeness!

“You alone are the Lord. You made the heavens, even the highest heavens, and all their starry host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them. You give life to everything, and the multitudes of heaven worship you.”

Nehemiah 9:6

God’s creativeness is a reminder to us as well. A reminder that we — as his beloved, as his children, as ones created in his own image — are free to be a bit playful too.

So go ahead. Laugh out loud. Dance freely. Paint a picture. Color outside the lines. Dare to live out your days with a touch of whimsy — because God is good, and He’s got you and me and the whole world securely in the palm of His hand.