Chitons fascinate me, because if you see just the outside, you have no idea of the beauty inside. Go ahead, look up "chiton." They're prehistoric-looking mollusks (in fact, they appeared 500 million years ago). You can see them seemingly glued to the rocks at low tide. And as you can see from this one, stuff grows on them. When they die, I suppose seagulls eat the insides, leaving these beautiful aqua shells. On the beach I often find one or more of the sections, but rarely a whole shell. Lucky day today.
The phrase that came to mind was "we contain worlds." This creature lived a whole life, completely mysterious to me, largely unseen. Chitons have eyes; what did this one see as the tide came in and went out? Did it perceive people and animals as they went by? Do chitons experience pain? Did it die naturally, or did something scrape it away from the rock?
There is more to everything than what we see on the surface. Curiosity is a holy gift. I imagine God the Creator thinking of the craziest things, and then breathing life into them. "I wonder," God says," what would happen...
Take time today to really observe something. To imagine its life, down to the smallest atom. It is all treasured by the One who breathed it into being.
Then turn that reflection to yourself, and know how completely you are loved. All of you, not just the parts others can see. We contain worlds known only to God. Revel in your beauty.