God's Wings

An article in National Geographic several years ago provided a penetrating picture of God's wings.

After a forest fire in Yellowstone National Park, forest rangers began their trek up a mountain to assess the inferno's damage. One ranger found a bird literally petrified in ashes, perched statuesquely on the ground at the base of a tree.

Somewhat sickened by the eerie sight, he knocked over the bird with a stick. When he gently struck it, three tiny chicks scurried from under their dead mother's wings.

The loving mother, keenly aware of impending disaster, had carried her offspring to the base of the tree and had gathered them under her wings, instinctively knowing that the toxic smoke would rise. She could have flown to safety but refused to abandon her babies.

When the blaze had arrived and the heat had scorched her small body, the mother had remained steadfast. Because she had been willing to die, those under the cover of her wings would live.

Thoughts to Live By

• I've learned that you can do something in an instant that will give you heartache for life.
• I've learned that it's taking me a long time to become the person I want to be.
• I've learned that you should try to leave loved ones with loving words.
• I've learned that you can keep going long after you can't.
• I've learned that we are responsible for what we do, no matter how we feel.
• I've learned that either you control your attitude or it controls you.
• I've learned that regardless of how hot and steamy a relationship is at first, the passion fades and there had better be something else to take its place.
• I've learned that heroes are the people who do what has to be done when it needs to be done, regardless of the consequences.
• I've learned that money is a lousy way of keeping score.
• I've learned that my best friend and I can do anything or nothing and have the best time.
• I've learned that sometimes the people you expect to kick you when you're down will be the ones to help you get back up.
• I've learned that sometimes when I'm angry I have the right to be angry, but that doesn't give me the right to be cruel.
• I've learned that true friendship continues to grow, even over the longest distance. Same goes for true love.
• I've learned that just because someone doesn't love you the way you want them to doesn't mean they don't love you with all they have.
• I've learned that maturity has more to do with what types of experiences you've had and what you've learned from them and less to do with how many birthdays you've celebrated.
• I've learned that your family won't always be there for you. It may seem funny, but people you aren't related to can take care of you and love you and teach you to trust people again. Families aren't just biological.
• I've learned that no matter how good a friend is, they're going to hurt you every once in a while and you must forgive them for that.
• I've learned that you have to have received forgiveness in order to understand how forgive others.
• I've learned no matter how bad your heart is broken the world doesn't stop for your grief.
• I've learned that our background and circumstances may have influenced who we are, but we are responsible for who we become.
• I've learned that just because two people argue, it doesn't mean they don't love each other And just because they don't argue, it doesn't mean they do.
• I've learned that we don't have to change friends if we understand that friends change.
• I've learned that you shouldn't be so eager to find out a secret. It could change your life forever.
• I've learned that two people can look at the exact same thing and see something totally different.
• I've learned that your life can be changed in a matter of hours by people who don't even know you.
• I've learned that even when you think you have no more to give, when a friend cries out to you, you will find the strength to help.
• I've learned that credentials on the wall do not make you a decent human being.
• I've learned that the people you care about most in life are taken from you too soon.