Science Wows

Science scares me.  Or at least, it did.  I think many moms would put both science and math in the category of "I could never teach that to my kids."  I would have to admit, I got good grades in school, but it was not for a love of the science, but for a desperate study so as not to fail.  

I have now taught at home for over eleven years and have tackled science.  It did not tackle me.  

This week, Maddie and Kyle, both sixth graders, jumped in with two feet smack into the deep end of cell theory.  We sat together in the family room as I explained mitosis and meiosis.  (I told you it was deep.). Please, remember this is sixth grade.  We were not learning at a college level.  Still, there were new concepts to address.  

But here's the thing.  Science wowed us.  It usually does.  It is such a privilege to teach my own kids every subject from a Biblical worldview.  I do not use a Christian publisher for science, so the  material is not steeped in Biblical truth.  Truth, however, is not determined by what someone else thinks no matter their educational prowess.  

As I taught how cells divide and reproduce, I could not hide my excitement.  God is so obvious in the littlest things as cells.  Take a look for yourself. (Keep in mind, I am not a scientist.)

Every cell in our body has exactly 23 pairs of chromosomes.  Exactly.

There are over 50,000 genes on those chromosomes.  God enjoys variety.

Mitosis allows for more cells to be copied exactly.  So, when your little one scrapes his knee you can be thankful that new cells are reproduced.  Again.

For mitosis to occur, those 23 pairs of chromosomes have to be copied.  Each cell knows that.  Each cell knows to line up the pairs of chromosomes in the middle.  The cell membrane knows to disappear for the time being until the cell has split in half, only to reappear after the cell is reproduced.  Exactly.  

Did you know that the DNA in your cells, located on those precious chromosomes, is in every cell.  However, the ones that control your brain only work in your brain.  Sounds right, but how, friends, does it know exactly when to go to work?  Wow, God is amazing.  Aren't you glad that the bone cells work where they are supposed to?  How about the heart cells?  This just blows my mind.

How about meiosis, you ask?  First of all this can get a little hairy as I am talking with sixth graders.  Yet, this form of cellular reproduction shows God's perfect design as well.  Chromosomes divide as well in each cell, yet each parent provides only half, so that the new organism whether a plant or animal has the perfect amount.  Again the chromosomes know exactly where and when to line up and split.  

We are blessed in our family to have eight children.  Four of them are parented by my husband and me.  Though similar,  none of my children is an exact copy of either parent.  Each has his or her own personality, gifts, physical uniqueness.  In their likeness, they are individual.  Meiosis.  

Our newest four children share the same mother, but none have the same father.  Two are biracial.  Two are white.  Even in that, there are similarities.  They share likenesses in their differences.  Meiosis.

Wow.  Now doesn't science sound pretty cool?  

My kids laughed at my excitement.  I was still giddy when I shared this with Bryan later.  Other topics in science will not wow to this level, but if I am willing to take a second look, I undoubtedly will see another glimpse of God.  I challenge you.  Tackle science boldly. Don't be afraid.  God is really big in the smallest things.