About a year ago, my son set up a salt water aquarium in our front room. It has been a source of entertainment and education for all of us. It contains various species of fish of which the little clown fish take center stage. Perched atop some of the algae and crustaceous covered rocks is a beautiful pink anemone with purple tipped tentacles. I was sure that the clown fish would settle right in and make a home among the tentacles of the anemone as I had seen so many times on TV and in nature magazines. NOT SO! These clowns wouldn't go near that beautiful thing.

My son tells me that only certain clown fish will live in certain anemones-- otherwise the little clowns are not immune to the toxin of that particular anemone and would be killed. But when the right clowns and right anemone get together they live together and help feed each other and protect each other. The Anemone provides protection for the clown fish eggs that are laid at the base of the stalk covered by all those poison tentacles. The clown fish, on the other hand, runs off any possible intruders that might want to damage the anemones soft tentacles which are the arms that gather food and bringing it to its mouth buried in the center of all those tentacles. Nature has so many interesting creatures all with their strange and wonderful ways. We could spend a lifetime just studying a small proportion of the creatures and not begin to unfold their mysteries. Heaven will provide a better laboratory to observe nature and maybe in a few million years with Jesus as our teacher we will begin to understand Gods love for us and the things he created for our pleasure.

Burney Tompkins

    - Uncle Burney