This morning I was praying over a particular situation and I asked God to let me see him in the midst of it. What God brought to mind was a bird completely encircling me and my family in its wings. I recalled the verse in the Gospels where Jesus says that he longed to cover the people of Jerusalem with his wings as a Mother hen covers her chicks.
We often think of God as our Father, but everything that a Mother is came directly from the nature of God too.
The love of a mother is intimate and tender. Mothers hold little humans when they sleep and when they are sick, and dry tears of pain and sadness. They wipe boogers and butts and clean everyone's underwear. They give the best snuggles and tickles and know just how to tuck in their kids like a burrito.
God loves us like that.
But the love of a mother is ferocious and tenacious too. They are some of the hardest working and most sacrificial people I've met. They protect and advocate and fight for the people they love. Mom's don't give up. Rightfully, there's a healthy fear and respect for the Mama Bear.
God loves us like that too.
Today, on Mother's Day, whether you have an amazing example of a mother's love or a difficult one, God longs to wrap you in his wings like a mother hen. He longs to cover you with tenderness and shelter you with the strength of his love.
Let him.
“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem.... How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings..." Matthew 23:37
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
How precious is your steadfast love, O God! The children of mankind take refuge in the shadow of your wings. Psalm 36:7
He will cover you with his wings; you will be safe in his care; his faithfulness will protect and defend you. Psalm 91:4
