A Bird's Wing

I saw something the other day that took my breath away.  It was a wing.  The wing of a bird that has been nesting on the wreath on my front door.  She is a very sweet momma bird--a little finch.  I've grown quite attached to her.  I think she senses this because she does not dive bomb me when I peer into her little nest.  I can't seem to stop looking at her babies or taking pictures of them.  They fascinate me.

I have watched her for several weeks now.  She would bring little twigs and weave them into my wreath.  She built her nest in layers.  And finally, when she thought her nest was deep enough to shield her babies, she laid 5 beautiful little blue eggs.  One each day for 5 days.  And then she rested.

After almost 2 weeks her little babies began to hatch.  Sometimes I wonder if I was actually more excited about those new little babies than she was.  With each new bird baby, I just grew more and more thrilled about them.  They were (and still are) adorable.

It ended up that only 3 of my little baby birds survived, for I found 2 dead babies laying on my doorstep one morning.  We carefully picked them up and disposed of them.  It broke my heart.  I had heard her the previous morning making all kinds of noise in her nest and now looking back I think she was getting rid of them.  She shoved those dead babies out so that her remaining babies had room to live and grow.  She knew what was best--after all, she's the bird mom, not me.

Watching these little birds grow has been a wondrous thing for me.  They are really beginning to get big and I know that within a week or 2--off they'll go.  I have mixed emotions about that, but then again I am a human.  And a mom human to boot!

So back to what I saw the other day because that's really what I want to talk about--I saw the wing of the momma bird.  She must have been laying somewhat on her side, for her wing was stretched out flat, covering her babies.  It was one of the most beautiful sights I had ever seen.  It was perfection.  I wish that I had had my camera with me, I would have taken a picture.  However, I guess I will just have to have a remembrance of it now--just a sweet memory.

There she was, that momma bird, with her wing covering her babies, when right then I thought of something.  It kind of hit me hard.  My eyes filled with tears, my heart clenched tight and my breath caught in my throat.  I thought of God's wing of protection covering me.  God protects me just like this--I thought.  Just like this.  The wing of a bird.  A simple, yet complex wing.  Covering me, protecting me.  How great is that?   Just like a bird's wing.