Wings

Several years ago, my husband and I both retired and we have been blessed to be able to move to a house on a large, gorgeous lake. We’ve spent many hours on the screened-in porch, enjoying  sunrises, sunsets, thunderstorms, and snowfall, leaves turning yellow and red in the fall, dogwoods and azaleas blooming in the spring. Another gift is the abundant wildlife in our neck of the woods. In spite of the fact that Bambi eats my hostas and tomatoes, Chip and Dale are tunneling to China under the front porch, and Rocky the Raccoon steals the bird feeders, we generally co-exist peacefully with our furry friends. But we also have birds—oh, the birds. I come from a long line of amateur bird-watchers. Both my mother and her mother, my Grandma Sybil, kept track of the feathered fauna in their yards, and I find myself doing the same.

In addition to the bald eagles, osprey, Canada geese, and great blue herons that soar over the lake, there are daily visits at the bird feeder from the cardinals, chickadees, nuthatches, goldfinches, phoebes, and Carolina wrens. Our newest neighbors are a family of barred owls who not-so-subtly surveille us from the nearby woods.

This litany of the local flora and fauna is a roundabout way of bringing me to the point of this little essay. First, picture a mother bird as she folds her wings over her babies to protect them. Now, recall a time when your mother (or dad or grandma or friend) wrapped arms around you to offer protection or comfort. Do you remember that feeling of peace that you had, even if for only a moment, that someone else understood you completely and would fight for you?

This image of being sheltered under a parent’s wings is found frequently in the Psalms (NIV):

Psalm 91:4  He will cover you with his feathers, and under His wings you will find refuge.

Psalm 36:7 How priceless is your unfailing love, O God! People take refuge in the shadow of your wings.

Psalm 17:8 Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings.

The Bible does not tell us that life will be without worries, dangers, or heartaches, but it does assure us that God will always be with us. And we don’t even have to ask. That’s God’s grace, which is a lesson for another time. But think about it. If a baby bird can trust his mother to protect him beneath her wings, then how much more can we trust God our Savior to wrap us in his wings and cover, shield, protect us from life’s emotional and spiritual storms? And here’s what’s so cool about it: we are always, ALWAYS, beneath the sheltering wings of God.

Isaiah 40:31 “…but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles….”

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