The Hilarious Ostrich

 

“The wings of the ostrich wave proudly, but are they the pinions and plumage of love? For she leaves her eggs to the earth and lets them be warmed on the ground, forgetting that a foot may crush them and that the wild beast may trample them. She deals cruelly with her young, as if they were not hers; though her labor be in vain, yet she has no fear, because God has made her forget wisdom and given her no share in understanding. When she rouses herself to flee, she laughs at the horse and his rider.” (Job 39:13-18 ESV).

 

Some years ago, Mary and I took a trip south of us to Fossil Rim Wildlife Park. There are 100’s of acres of land dedicated to various free roaming exotic animals. Virtually all those native to Africa as well as many other parts of the globe are represented on the grounds. They encourage visitors to feed the animals with special feed purchased as a part of the ticket for the driving tour.  Partway through the trip, as I was looking out the window, I saw an ostrich running wildly alongside us. Its long neck and bulging eyes stuck out in front of its oddly large body, and it flapped its enormous, fluffy wings while its skinny legs drove it closer to our car window to get a few pellets of food. Believe me, it is a wonderful experience to have an ostrich stick its head in your car and eat from your hand! Mary was not nearly as impressed as I was. I couldn’t keep from laughing!

 

But as outlandish as ostriches are, they still have their place in creation. Although God didn’t endow them with wisdom or good sense, he did see fit to make it possible for them to outpace horses and riders—and even cars on the trail at Fossil Rim! Perhaps God created such a funny creature for times when things that happen in life are just so strange that we have to shake our heads and say, “You can’t make this stuff up!” Our lives are often so complex in ways that we can’t explain, and sometimes we are left speechless.

 

Still, even strange and inexplicable things have their place in life. And like the wildly joyful ostrich, somehow everything fits together, in God’s wisdom. Trust in His way!