Daily Devotion:

Title: A Bear of a Different Color

Date: May 14, 2013

Each strand of polar bear fur is a hollow and clear shaft that looks white when reflecting light. It’s evolutionary camouflage for icy arctic living.

What’s the best camouflage for polar bears living at the tropical Singapore zoo? Green.

Inuka and Sheba turned totally green. The humid air caused harmless green algae to grow in their hollow hair shafts. If the bears had the inclination and opportunity to escape captivity into the jungle, they would blend into the foliage as camo-bears.

Blending in is what many of us do in life. When we move to a new place, or join a new circle of friends, we often try to adapt, to fit in, to look right.

When we moved to Downeast, Maine from button-down Connecticut, I learned quickly that a crisp, pressed shirt and snappy chinos made me wholly unapproachable. Nobody would speak with me. Happily, it was an easy switch to jeans, flannel shirts, and a ball cap.

We may make certain accommodations so we look the part, or fit in, so we don’t feel out of place. That’s fine, no harm done, as long as we stay true to our principles, our faith and beliefs.

Faith can survive external change because faith lives deep inside our hearts. Sure, we all change, but the inexpressible love of God inside our souls is singularly unchangeable and eternal.

Let’s Pray: Dear God, like shifting fashion, as we age and change, remain true and steady in our hearts, O God.  Amen.

Here’s a Thought: Green colored polar bears are still polar bears.

Source:
BBC, “Polar bears turn green in Singapore,” 02/24/04. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/3518631.stm

Note: 

Polar Bear habitat is threatened by the rapid loss of ice. Summer ice may be non-existent by 2030. Juliet Eilperin, The Washington Post: “Captivity could help polar bears survive global warming assault, some zoos say,”  03/25/12. http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/captivity-could-help-polar-bears-survive-global-warming-assault-some-zoos-say/2012/03/21/gIQAkIWFaS_story.html