This little bird got lost on our porch a while back and couldn't find it's way out. It was the first but not the last. Jason and I have both learned to gently corner and grasp the birds to take them to a place of freedom.
I was struck recently while reading of the symbol of covenant in the Old Testament - the placing of the hand on the inner thigh - and how that applies to Jacob. In Genesis 32:28 we are told that God "...touched the hollow of his thigh..." Later, in verse 31 "...as he passed Penuel the sun rose upon him, and he was limping because of his thigh." I can sort of relate. Nerve pain is a funny thing - it is both numb and it hurts simultaneously. If you can imagine a larger-than-life human hand wrapped around my left side - the thumb extending across my back, the forefinger across my ribs, and the three remaining fingers wrapped around my inner thigh - you will have a picture of a sensation I have felt - generally the area of my nerve pain/numbness - bothersome at times. This is also generally where the cancerous tumor had invaded my body - where God has indeed held me - guiding the surgeon's hand - to remove and heal what threatened my life. I imagine that Jacob's hip/thigh never really felt the same after his encounter with God...and it is possible that this nerve pain/numbness may last a lifetime but I have come to appreciate it as a reminder of God's healing.
I am moved to share this reminder with you all - that just as the birds are held, so are we.
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