The Trappings of a Bird

I would like to introduce you to one of the most amazing little birds that I have ever been close enough to photograph: The Killdeer.

If you live in the Southwest may have seen them around, as they have a wide range and are fairly common. What makes them far from common is the amazing deception they pull off if they feel their eggs are in danger. At the first sign of danger, the Killdeer walks away from its nest while holding its wing in a way that simulates injury. Once she has the invader's attention, she then begins to flop around on the ground to mimic easy prey. With one eye on the offending creature, she leads it away from her nest ... keeping just feet out of reach. When she has the prey far enough away, the Killdeer will simply fly away.

The dedication of this little bird to its babies amazed me. Here she was taking on a human ... over a hundred times her size. She bravely tried to convince us to chase her and spare her babies. I could not help but wonder how often this deception ends in her demise, as it was clear that she was more than willing to lay down her life for her children.

Through His Word, God teaches of a love so great that His Son, Jesus Christ, willingly went to the cross to die in our place. As mothers, we often say that we love our children so much that we would be willing to do the same .. willing to die for them. BUT ... would we willingly die for one that to us is all but unworthy? Romans 5:7-8 says, "⁷For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— ⁸but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Even though we were unworthy.

Moses paints a beautiful picture of God's love, protection, and direction for us in Deuteronomy 32:11-12 which reads:

¹⁰"He found him in a desert land,
and in the howling waste of the wilderness;
he encircled him, he cared for him,
he kept him as the apple of his eye.
¹¹ Like an eagle that stirs up its nest,
that flutters over its young,
spreading out its wings, catching them,
bearing them on its pinions

Let's take a closer look at the amazing picture that these verses paint, for there is some amazing truth in it that one might miss if they do not know about the parenting styles of eagles.

Let's start with verse 10 which explains that God found his people in the wilderness. He found them ... did you catch that ... He found them. The very words paint a picture of a God that loves His children enough to seek them out ... to find them ... even in the wilderness that they are in. Not only that, He encircled them, cared for them, and kept them the apple of His eye. How many times have we heard that expression? I did a little googling about it and discovered that the apple of an eye is literally the cornea of an eye. The apple of your eye is so well protected that it is almost impossible to touch it. Your eyelid automatically shuts if you try. So are we protected by Him no matter what kind of wilderness we are in.

Verse 11 says, "Like an eagle that stirs up its nest, that flutters over its young, spreading out its wings, catching them, bearing them on its pinions..." At first glance this seems like a beautiful picture of God's protection, but it is far more than that. To understand why, one has to learn a little bit about eagles and the unique way they parent.

Eagles build huge nests. They can be over 5 feet wide and can weigh over 2,000 pounds. Eagles line their nests with moss, greenery, and feathers to make it a safe comfortable place for their young. When they eaglets hatch, they are well protected in these massive nests. They are fiercely protective and will go to great lengths to provide for their young. They can fly as many as 180 miles a day while hunting for enough food to support the ravenous appetites of the growing eaglets. At 12 weeks of age the mother eagle hovers over the nest and flaps her wings which accomplishes two things. It"stirs us the nest" and dislodges all of the grass, moss, and feathers making the nest a far more uncomfortable place to be - and it encourages the young eaglets to fly. If, however, the eaglets refuse to try it, the mother eagle will actually push the eaglets out of the nest. In this moment of truth, the eaglet either flies and finds its way to safety or it plummets towards the ground. If the eaglet fails to fly, the mother saves them by "spreading out its wings, catching them, and bearing them on its pinions." Simply put, she swoops down and catches them on her wings and flies them back to the safety of the nest.

There is more than a lesson of God's protection in these verses. There is also a lesson on God's direction. You see when we first become Christians we spend some time in the safety of the nest, bit that is not where God would have us stay. We are not meant to stay in the comfort of safety. We, like the eaglets, were saved to fly ... to soar under the protection of His wings. God often purposely stirs the nests of His children to push them out of their comfort zones, to encourage them to soar under His protective eye.

We were created to me so much more than we sometimes aspire to be my friends. Let's not be content to stay in the safety of the nest. Like the eaglet, let us move to the nest's edge and take the plunge towards the journey that the Lord has for each of us ... knowing that He is there to catch us and hold us on His mights wings should we need it.

Under His wings I am safely abiding,
Though the night deepens and tempests are wild,
Still I can trust Him; I know He will keep me,
He has redeemed me, and I am His child.

Under His wings, under His wings,
Who from His love can sever?
Under His wings my soul shall abide,
Safely abide forever.

~William Cushing

May you soar ...

Lisa