An
article in National Geographic several years ago provided
a penetrating picture of God's wings. After a forest fire
in Yellowstone National Park, forest rangers began their
trek up a mountain to assess the inferno's damage.
One ranger found a bird literally petrified in ashes,
perched statuesquely on the ground at the base of a tree.
Somewhat sickened by the eerie sight, he knocked over the
bird with a stick. When he struck it, three tiny chicks
scurried from under their dead mother's wings.
The loving mother, keenly aware of impending disaster,
had carried her offspring to the base of the tree and had
gathered them under her wings, instinctively knowing that
the toxic smoke would rise. She could have flown to
safety but had refused to abandon her babies. When the
blaze had arrived and the heat had singed her small body,
the mother had remained steadfast.
Because she had been willing to die, so those under the
cover of her wings would live.
"He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under
his wings shalt thou trust." (Psalms 91:4)
The Mother Bird's Gift
