Once, as I traveled through the Himalayas, there was a great forest fire. Everyone was frantically trying to fight the fire, but I noticed a group of men standing and looking up into a tree that was about to go up in flames. When I asked them what they were looking at, they pointed up at a nest full of young birds. Above it, the mother bird was circling wildly in the air and calling out warnings to her young ones. There was nothing she or we could do, and soon the flames started climbing up the branches.
As the nest caught fire, we were all amazed to see how the mother bird reacted. Instead of flying away from the flames, she flew down and settled on the nest, covering her little ones with her wings. The next moment, she and her nestlings were burnt to ashes. None of us could believe our eyes. I turned to those standing by and said, “We have witnessed a truly marvelous thing. God created that bird with such love and devotion, that she gave her life trying to protect her young. If her small heart was so full of love, how unfathomable must be the love of her Creator. That is the love that brought him down from heaven to become man. That is the love that made him suffer a painful death for our sake.
From Wisdom of the Sadhu by Sundar Singh
He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart. ~Psalm 91:4 (NIV)
What lessons have birds taught you?
Loved this, Sandra. I once wrote this story I heard…
This reminds me of a story I heard someone tell. It happened years ago when a massive fire overwhelmed the Grand Canyon. Afterward, as several men walked through the ashes, one man saw a charred bird and gently moved it with his foot, only to find, beneath the mother, three living baby birds, all of which immediately hopped off. The mother had protected her precious ones under her wings, bringing them deliverance from the fire, for she gave up her life that they might live to take flight.
Thought you might enjoy this one also.
Oh, I remember reading that on your blog. Powerful
What greater love is there than this?!
Greater than we can truly grasp.
I’m a bird watcher. I have had so many bird lessons, I can’t begin to include them all here.
This one sounds heartbreaking.
I had to haggle with my husband to invest in feeders and food this year. I think he is enjoying them as much as I m. And so are the grandgirls and the cats.