The Pocket Parrot, Part 1
Under His Wing
This is the first in a short
series inspired by Melo, our beloved Parrotlet.
"He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings
you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield
and rampart. You will not fear the terror of night, nor
the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that
stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at
midday." (Ps 91:4-6)
The Pocket Parrot.
Also known as a Miniature Parrot, or by its official name:
Parrotlet. This smallest member of the parrot family
is also the newest member of our family. The little
guy measures about 4 inches in length, from "stem to
stern", or in bird talk, from "beak to tail". Next
to him, our resident Cockatiel looks as big as a chicken!
Although he's only officially been a part of our family
for 7 days, he has succeeded in worming his way deeply
into my son's heart -- oh, and also deeply into each of
his pockets, up every sleeve and into every collar, and in
one case, even down into his underpants! Hence, the
nickname, "Pocket Parrot"! Believe me, it puts a
whole new meaning to the expressing "under his wing"!
But besides being a
cute little coddler, this little bird, who bears the name
Meloconcito -- or "Melo" for short -- has an ego that
won't quit. As I said before, he can't be more than
4 inches long, yet he takes off after our Cockatiel (4
times his size)! The poor thing can't even enjoy a
cracker on the floor anymore without the little half-pint
driving her away.
This is the curious
part to me. How can a bird that spends most of its
time "cowering" away in some hidden part of my son's
clothing, come charging out so aggressively that a bird
four times his size runs away? It can only mean one
thing: When Melo hides in pockets and sleeves, he
isn't cowering! He's simply resting in the
knowledge that everything is all right in his little
world!
As I contemplate the
"strange" behavior of my son's pet, it occurs to me that
we could all learn an important lesson from this tiny ball
of feathers. The Psalmist tells us that God will
cover us with His feathers, under His wing we will find
refuge, and His faithfulness will be our shield and
rampart. What does this mean? This means that
we can rest, snuggled up against the love of our Heavenly
Father, resting in the knowledge that everything is right
in our little world. But at the smallest sight of
attack from the enemy, we can, just like Melo, come
charging out with such confidence that enemies many times
our size will run away! How? Because His
faithfulness is our shield and rampart. As the
apostle Paul put it: "The weapons we fight with are not
the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have
divine power to demolish strongholds." (2 Cor. 10:4)
My friends, when we are covered with His "feathers", under
the protection of His wing, we have power over the enemy!
Why not learn a
lesson from the newest member of my family? Why not
learn to nestle so close to God that you are not afraid to
take control of the attacks of the enemy? God tells
us to cast all of our burdens upon Him (1 Peter 5:7), so
why not do so today, my friend? Do not delay!
If you have never
accepted Jesus into your life, why not do so today?
Why not give your life to the Lord so that you, too, can
"nestle" under His Wing, and so that you, too, can have
the protection He provides against the enemy? Why
not answer the Savior's Call?
To do so,
Click here
(http://answers2prayer.org/saviours_call.html)
Please see Sunday's edition
of The Illustrator for The Pocket Parrot, Part 2.
Love in Christ,
Lyn
Lyn Chaffart,
Moderator, The Nugget, Scriptural Nuggets (
www.sermonillustrator.org/minisermons/ ), Answers2Prayer Ministries,
www.Answers2Prayer.org ,