As a hen gathers her chickens

I promise, I won't always be about the chicken thing, but here's an interesting thing I've learned.  

If you have read Isaiah at all, and/or the Book of Mormon, it is almost impossible not to look at a mother hen and wonder what the Lord meant when He said He would gather us as a hen gathers her chickens under her wings.  


She literally puts them under her wings.  I mean, I picked her up to count the chicks and make sure none were missing (one ran off and actually spent a whole night outside the coop alone because I didn't check under her the night before).  And--there were only two chicks under her, yet the hen's body was peeping.  No chicks falling out--the other two were all tucked up inside there.

Mama hen fluffs herself out huge in order to cover them and protect them--she guides with clucking and wings and, at the slightest danger (which means me), she rustles them back to safety, which often means under herself.  


Such a nurturing image--a very engaged, concerned parent protecting the child both physically and with constant direction and teaching.  God is quite a poet.