Last night I felt a deep loss of hope. A mother lost her son to senseless violence and the justice system failed her. Even now, I struggle to see God in the midst of this tragedy. Myself a mother, my heart is so entangled with distress as I empathized with her tragedy. Even though she is a stranger, in many ways she is not unlike me.
But as a Christian I'm not supposed to go there. At least not in a public forum. As a Christian, I'm supposed to be a beacon of light in a dark world. I'm supposed to point others to The light. Yet all I could do last night was morn the darkness of it all.
I struggle in acknowledging that for a moment I lost sight of God's power. I fell short. Fortunately, where my flaws abound, God's grace abounds the more. He was not caught off guard by my weakness.
Just the opposite, He made provision for it.
Early this morning, my sorrow lifted when I checked my inbox and found this image attached to an email from my step-mom.
It is a picture of a bird nestled into the branches with two small chicks tucked snugly beneath the umbrella of her wings.
This mother bird is sheltering her young from a storm, and I am struck by the image of God as refuge. The thought is comforting.
It is a brief reminder that God is the only safe place where I find strength.
My take away is recorded in Psalms 91:4. Here the psalmist writes:
He will cover you with his feathers,
and under his wings you will find refuge;
his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.
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