The Pastor’s Piece – Pastor Kevin Cernek, FCFI Chaplain

FCFI
August 9, 2026

“Not Everything Makes Sense”

We walk the dog, herd cattle, lead sheep, and let the cat out. Deer leap, foxes trot, horses canter, and cattle lumber. Lions travel in prides, sheep in flocks, and fish in schools. A group of alligators is called a congregation. You have a cauldron of bats, a sleuth of bears, and a clowder of cats. A group of lobsters is called a risk, foxes travel in skulks, eagles gather in a convocation, and enough crows become a murder.

While preparing to write this column, I came across Richard Lederer’s book, Crazy English: The Ultimate Joyride Through Our Language (Pocket Books, 1989). He reminds us that English is the most widely spoken language in history, used in some way by at least one out of every seven people on earth. Yet for all its versatility, English can be wonderfully confusing.

According to Mr. Lederer – The blackbird is actually brown. Blackboards may be green. Blackberries are green, then red, before finally turning black. And if blackberries are black and blueberries are blue, what about strawberries, raspberries, cranberries, elderberries, gooseberries, and huckleberries?

The confusion only deepens. There is no butter in buttermilk, no egg in eggplant, no grape in grapefruit, no bread in shortbread, no worms or wood in wormwood, no mush or room in mushroom, no pine or apple in pineapple, no peas or nuts in peanuts, and certainly no ham in a hamburger. And despite the name, Grape Nuts contains neither grapes nor nuts. English muffins weren’t invented in England, French fries didn’t originate in France, and Danish pastries didn’t come from Denmark.

Animals don’t help matters either. Greyhounds are not always gray. Panda bears and koala bears aren’t true bears. A woodchuck is really a groundhog, which is certainly not a hog. Glowworms are fireflies, but fireflies aren’t flies – they’re beetles. Ladybugs and lightning bugs are also beetles, and some ladybugs are actually male.

Hot dogs can be cold. Homework is often done at school. Nightmares can happen in broad daylight, while morning sickness and daydreaming can occur at night. Quicksand works very slowly. Boxing rings are square. Silverware and drinking glasses may be made of plastic, while tablecloths can be made of paper. A round pizza comes in a square box cut in triangles.

As amusing as all of this is, it also reminds us of something much deeper. Human wisdom has its limits. We try to make everything fit neatly into logical categories, but life often refuses to cooperate. Languages develop over centuries. History leaves its fingerprints everywhere. What seems irrational usually has a story behind it, even if we don’t fully understand it.

The same is true in life. We won’t always understand why God allows certain events or why He leads us down unexpected paths. His ways are beyond our reasoning. That’s why Solomon wisely reminds us: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths,” (Proverbs 3:5–6).

English may not always make sense, but thankfully God’s wisdom never contradicts itself, His purposes never fail, and His paths are always right. God can make a straight line with a crooked stick.

Kevin Cernek is Pastor of Martintown Community Church in Martintown, Wisconsin.)