Luke 13:34 – How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing!

Nothing, I think, hurts so much and so deeply, as to go to someone and offer love and have that offer spurned. Yet it is the tragedy of many of us to give our heart to someone only to have it broken. Part of the folklore of my family has to do with my mother's oldest brother who left the family farm to make his fortune in Boston in the thirties. Four years later he returned to the farm, never to leave again, never to marry, never to speak of his experience during those four years.

But the tale that is still told is that his heart was broken by the rejection of his love by a beautiful young woman. Such tales have a way of living on in families, and the story of God's love for Jerusalem seems to be of this nature: "Jerusalem, Jerusalem… how often have I desired…?"

And God's desire is still to embrace us with wings of love, as a mother hen enfolds her brood, loving each one beyond the hurts of the day and the mishaps of tomorrow.

In Jesus Christ such a love is ours. Thanks be to God.

Prayer: Praise be to you, our loving Lord, for searching and seeking love that finds us where we live, and heals us where we hurt, and strengthens us where we're weak. Help us to welcome wings of love and live this day for you. Amen.

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About the author:

Kenn Stright <kennethstright@yahoo.ca>
West Petpeswick, Nova Scotia, Canada
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