Several years ago my daughters and I visited a small city zoo.  Having been to some larger, more impressive zoos, they promptly announced this particular one was “boring” and they wanted to leave.  I, however, had the car keys!   So, their only real choice was to either enjoy the experience or be miserable.  Guess which one they chose?

At one point I thought about throwing them in the pool with the hippos.  After all, they kept whining about it being hot!  I thought that maybe they would like to go swimming.  But, alas, there was a rather high fence separating us and the pool.  Besides, even the hippos didn’t deserve those two!

Towards the end of this rather unpleasant family outing, we entered a tropical rain forest.  They insisted it was so hot one of them might faint.  I suggested it would be much quieter and more pleasant if they both did.  It was then I happened to look up and see a family of bats hanging from the ceiling.

Most of us know bats are nocturnal.  On this particular day, however, there was a baby bat that seemed to have forgotten this important fact.  For whatever reason, it was obviously refusing to sleep.  The poor mother!  She was attempting everything to control and comfort her young offspring.  She was actually holding it next to her with one wing and patting it with the other!  When it let go of her and began to fall, she reached out with her wings, caught it, and drew it close to her.

Standing there watching her movements, I began to remember all those long nights when my own children were restless, scared, or ill.  How many hours had I spent holding them close while softly singing and patting their backs?  How many times had I reached out and grabbed them just as they began to fall? 

More importantly, how many times had God done the same thing for all of us?  Even in those moments when we have willfully disobeyed and did that which was harmful to ourselves or others, God has been there . . . as a hen (gathering) her brood under her wings.   (Matthew 23:37b NRSV)

Even when we are being difficult, God is there loving us, comforting us, and protecting us.  Regardless of what we do or how we act, we are never out of the reach of God’s holy arms.  That, my friends, is something to celebrate.