In Florida, monsoon season begins in June and often lasts into October. It is a time of welcome relief from the very dry winter months when living green things become thirsty. However, the gloomy-looking clouds, heavy with moisture, begin their downpour with tumultuous claps of thunder and streaks of lightening. Many times the storms rattle the windows and shut down the electrical power.

It was on a day like this that my friend Ashley, who lives by a lake, looked out of her kitchen window and saw a mother turkey with her large brood of little ones. As she watched, a powerful clap of thunder caused the hen to begin clucking loudly to her chicks. The wild turkey spread her wings while continuing to cluck as her brood stood under the shelter of her shadow. The rain began to pour and the babies stayed under their feathery covering where they knew they were safe.

I thought about the ninety-first Psalm and how applicable it was to the mother turkey and her young. “He that dwells in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my GOD; in him will I trust for He will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from deadly pestilence. He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings shall you trust and find refuge.”

Pondering this scripture, the words to a traditional church hymn came to my mind. I remember singing it as a child:

“Under His Wings”
Music by Ira Sankey, Text by William Cushing
Under his wings, I am safely abiding;
Though the night deepens and tempests are wild,
Still I can trust Him, I know He will keep me;
He has redeemed me, and I am His child.
Under His wings, under His wings, Who from His love can sever? Under His wings my soul shall abide,
Safely abide forever.