Romans 11:33 Good News Translation
33 How great are God's riches! How deep are his wisdom and knowledge! Who can explain his decisions? Who can understand his ways?
In 1956, on our furlough from mission service in Africa, Dad bought a VW Microbus in Germany to use back in Africa. We toured a bit of western Europe and spent a few hours touring the Amsterdam Zoo. As we walked with a great throng of tourists down a main sidewalk in the zoo, we were asked to step aside and let an elephant come by. The elephant had a frame on its back and several tourists perched up there. Our family stood behind a number of other tourists. When the elephant plodded right in front of us, it suddenly stopped, turned, and looked directly at Mom. Then it threw its trunk up over its head and trumpeted loudly, right in her face. Mom just about fainted. Then the elephant turned and plodded on down the trail. One of the zookeepers came up to Mom right away and asked if she was okay. “I have been working here for twenty years,” he apologized, “and I’ve never seen that happen before! I’m terribly sorry!”
I couldn’t help laughing. I knew immediately what had happened. Some two years previously we had been touring Wankie National Park (now Hwange in Zimbabwe). We had seen very little in the way of animals and were driving down a narrow track through the rather dense savannah bush when some 50 feet ahead of us a great African cow elephant stepped into the trail and slowly and majestically walked off into the bush on the opposite side of the track. Then, one-by-one, the rest of the matriarch’s herd filed across the track. Elephants always have the right of way, so we waited in awe of these great animals. I was sitting in the back seat and saw the matriarch come around to left side of our car and stand there watching us and her herd coming across in front of us. The other passengers all had their eyes glued on those crossing our track ahead of us. When all had finally crossed and disappeared, we sat and waited quietly. Suddenly the Matriarch threw her trunk into the air and trumpeted violently. She then started to charge straight at us. Mom about had a heart attack right there and then. That was enough to strike an eternal fear of elephants into her heart. Everyone in the car started yelling: “Roll up the windows!” “Roll down the windows!” “Start the car!” “Backup!” “Go forward!” Dad was driving. He didn’t know what to do so just remained quiet.
Fortunately, after a few determined steps, the matriarch decided against charging us, turning our car upside down, and trampling it flat, as elephants do. After that episode, Mom would stay in camp while we went elephant watching at Wankie and pray for our safety. When God created elephants, He put many typically human emotions into their great hearts including love, sadness, and a sense of humor. Apparently that elephant in Amsterdam sensed the terror that clutched Mom’s heart and responded to it as an elephant’s practical joke, in its own natural way. It was saying to her, “See, I mean you no harm! This is only noise and bluster!”
Thank You, Lord, for Your infinite knowledge and wisdom in creating both us and elephants. We rest in Your loving care for us.
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