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Earlier this spring I found a small bird’s nest wedged into the wreath on my front door. It had five small blue eggs in it. My first thought was how sweet and beautiful it was, and my second instinct was to take it down because I didn’t want the mess on my porch! On further study, I read that the mother bird would abandon the nest if it was moved, so I decided to leave it. It takes two weeks to hatch the eggs and then two weeks for the birds to leave the nest. I decided I could deal with the nest for a month.
Looking through my window at the baby birds.
I became very attached to it. No one was allowed to use my front door because I didn’t want to disturb them. Daily I checked to see what was happening. One morning I experienced sheer joy when to my delight I discovered there were five baby birds in the nest. My front door has a glass window on top so one could peer through and see the activity in the nest. The mother bird could be observed as she came and fed the babies. She took great care of her little chicks and each day they grew bigger. Then one day, about two weeks after hatching, they were all gone! I fearfully opened the door to see if they had fallen out, but no, they had taken flight. I must admit when I looked at the empty nest, I was a little sad.
I had been sharing my daily journey about the nest with my son who moved to the West Coast a few years ago. This was the text response of my “baby bird” who had left my nest: “This was a predictable metaphor. Those birds still love you even though they don’t live on your door anymore. And those birds are very grateful that you gave them a safe space so they could learn to spread their wings.” You may insert various tearful, eyes welled up emojis here!
When I started thinking about the metaphor that this bird’s nest presented, a clear image of God came to mind. I thought of God, the protective parent providing and caring for his/her young. Normally we consider God the Father but in this case, I think it’s ok to expand our thinking to include God’s maternal love. A mother’s love is similar to God’s love in that they are both nurturing, protective, and unconditional. (Unfortunately, not always true of earthly mothers, but ALWAYS true of God.) There are many verses that talk about God’s love being like a mother’s. Two examples are found in Isaiah:
“Can a mother forget the baby at her breast, and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you! (49:15)
“As a mother comforts her child, so will I comfort you….” (66:13)
Take a few moments, sit with the baby bird metaphor, and ponder the following verses. Notice how God cares for you. Notice how He wants you to come to Him for shelter and protection.
In a desert land he found him,
in a barren and howling waste.
He shielded him and cared for him;
he guarded him as the apple of his eye,
like an eagle that stirs up its nest
and hovers over its young,
that spreads its wings to catch them
and carries them aloft. Deuteronomy 32:10-11
He will cover you with his feathers.
He will shelter you with his wings.
His faithful promises are your armor and protection. Psalm 91:4 (NLT)
Have mercy on me, my God, have mercy on me,
for in you I take refuge.
I will take refuge in the shadow of your wings
until the disaster has passed. Psalm 57:1 (NIV)
“…How often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing.” The words of Jesus in Matthew 23:37b
So, what does this say in our daily lives? It says God sees us, loves us, and always has positive intentions toward us. He is watching over us and wants to protect us. God is with us always. Just as the mother bird spreads her wings over her babies to protect them from the storms, so we can take shelter in God. It doesn’t necessarily mean that we won’t face storms (sometimes with gale force winds and torrential rain), it doesn’t mean we won’t get blown around and get wet, but we can know that we are not alone and be comforted by God’s presence.
We can also extend the metaphor even further; my son’s words were true here too. We were not created to stay in our little Christian nest. We must be willing to adventure out. We must be willing to go and share the love of our heavenly parent with the big world around us! We must be willing to spread both our wings and the good news.
There is no place I would rather be than in the shadow of His wings.
Image by Vinson Tan ( 楊 祖 武 ) from Pixabay
ABOUT OUR BLOGGER
Bonnie Kotler and her husband Mitch have two daughters, three sons, seven grandchildren and three grand-puppies. She was a stay-at-home mom for many years before re-entering the workforce after receiving her M.S. in Counseling and Human Relations from Villanova University. She is a licensed professional counselor at The Peacemaker Center and her own private practice, True North Counseling. Bonnie has been on the Willowdale women’s ministry teaching team since 2012. Bible studies have played a key role in her walk as a believer, and in turn, she loves to help other women find their peace with God and grow in their faith. She enjoys writing Bible study materials, reading fiction, spending time with family and doing anything in the sunshine. Bonnie loves to laugh and considers laughter as the best medicine. Psalm 126:2
Women's Worship Night
August 21, 7:00 - 8:30pm
Join us for a fun night of worship, prayer and dessert to kick off our fall women's groups. Women and girls of all ages across all of our campuses are invited. Feel free to bring a friend!
Our Women’s Worship Night is also an opportunity to explore the new fall women's groups and learn about ways to get plugged in. This will take place on Wednesday, August 21 from 7:00 to 8:30 p.m. at the Kennett Campus. If you have questions, please reach out to Carole Hoy.