Under Mama's Wings - Happy Mother's day!

Tehillim / Psalm 17: 6 - 8

I call on you, my God, for you will answer me; turn your ear to me and hear my prayer.   Show me the wonders of your great love, you who save by your right hand
    those who take refuge in you from their foes.
Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings...

I love sitting outside on the veranda outside my house. During the summer months we have some visitors in the form of some very naughty birds that nest in our gutter. They nest in an overhanging area that is too far up from the ground so we have little choice but to leave them there. 

While sitting outside one afternoon I heard the familiar sound of the baby birds cheeping frantically for their mom. When I looked up at the nesting area, the mother bird popped out of her hole and took off at a high speed. About a minute later she was back, but not empty handed or should I say – empty beaked. She had returned with food in her mouth, but before she jumped back in to the nest she very cleverly perched on a tree about 10 metres from the nest and her beady eyes scanned the air waves for predators. After some time she popped over to the nest dropped the food off and in to baby beaks and off she sped again. I watched this scene for over an hour and a half until I grew tired from her exhausting, conscientious flight. 

As I sat marvelling at the committed faithfulness of this mother bird – I heard Abba Yahweh say something so precious to me. He told me how much he loves His children and how He is so much like that comforting mother bird. He is always working on our behalf, always feeding, always taking care of our enemies, always on the lookout for predators seeking to overtake us and always caring so pedantically about His children. 

When I turned to His word, I found so many revelations of this nature of Yah, that it struck me as so comforting and so awe – inspiring that our God is not only our Father but He is also our Mother. Faithfully providing and taking care of us even when we cannot see it. 

Tehillim 17 says that God keeps us as His apple and He hides us underneath the shadow of His wings. Devarim (Deuteronomy) 32: 10 – 11 echo similar thoughts, one cannot doubt that David who penned Tehillim 17, drew inspiration from this piece of Torah for his psalm.

Devarim 32: 10 - 11

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.

On a deeper level, the wings often referred to in the Tehillim (Psalms) can stand as a symbol of the Taliet of Yahweh. The Rabbi’s of old suggest that God drapes Himself in a taliet (prayer shawl) of Light, which He uses to cover His children with. He pulls each one of His beloved children underneath His arm, so that His taliet is wrapped around them as a covering of protection. Essentially when a mother bird pulls her young in and underneath her wings, she is shielding them with her own body, with her own life and heartbeat, with her own being. The state of being a child in the arms of a loving parent is much like that state of being in your mother’s wings; it is a state of peace and comfort, fear is absent and love is present.

Today we live in a world wrought with fear and pain this is because the world has turned its back on the only One who could ever care for them. For us who know our King and Saviour, we can rest in the fact that our God never slumbers or sleeps concerning us. No beloved, our God is pedantically feeding us, caring for us and protecting us, rest in His wings today and allow Him to feed you, nurture you and safeguard you from the troubles of this life. He is the only One who truly cares and who is qualified to be the best mother ever!

Happy Mother's Day! It's also my moms birthday today and so I want to send a tribute out to her. I have a great mom, a wonderful mom and even though I share my memories of growing up among abuse, God has restored my family. They still have a long way to go but the main thing is - I am free and that's what matters right now. So here's a shout out and picture of my mom, a funny one! Happy Mother's Day everyone!