He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge… (Psalm 91:4a).

I’m not really what you might call a “bird person.”  Sure, some of them are pretty and some of them make music and some of them are quite tasty, but in general they eat things from my garden that I had planned to eat, leave undesired presents on my car, and wake me up on the rare day that I could have slept in.

Still, there’s something about this image.

You’ve seen it on nature shows, the shot of a Mama bird spreading her wings out over her babies to hide them and guard them.  The message is, “If you want these little ones, you’ll have to come through me!”  Or what about the penguins?  Yes, I know I wrote about the penguins last week, but the image is sticking with me.  You see the footage of Daddy Penguin with his baby sitting right on his feet, Dad’s wings protecting the chick.  I kind of like that image of the Father.  He holds us on his lap (penguins don’t have laps, per se, but they do the best they can) with his arms around us, keeping us safe as we take in this world of his.

Beloved, do not be afraid.

You are worth more than many penguins.