What’s The Difference between A Duck?

Yesterday was Mothering Sunday. One of my Mum’s ‘jokes’ was ‘What’s the difference between a Duck?’ The answer? ‘Because it’s got two legs the same!’ It made no sense!

I fear that some of her humour rubbed off on me… She had another similar ‘joke’: ‘Why does a cow when it spins?’ … ‘Because the higher the fewer!’ It still makes no sense!

I read the story of David and Absalom this morning. David, the youngest brother, shepherd, musician, poet, giant killer, has eventually become king of Israel. He’s set up Jerusalem as his capital, built a palace, united the kingdom… His God has blessed him.

His son, Absalom, decides that he wants to be king. National political and religious leaders defect and take Absalom’s side. David flees for his life. From powerful king David becomes a homeless refugee. His God? It seems to make no sense.

There’s much in life that makes little sense to me, big questions of life and death I still can’t fully get my head round…

In the last four months four men who have been part of my life-story have died at a comparatively young age. I understand the medical reasons. I’ve heard human and spiritual sentences that make some sense… but questions of timing, grief, family heartache… still don’t make complete sense.

Yesterday at church Abi talked about Mothering Sunday… times when God is said to be like a mother.

She quoted… God is: ‘like an eagle that stirs up its nest and hovers over its young, that spreads its wings to catch them and carries them on its pinions.’

Mother eagle pushes the happy, secure, well-fed baby out of his nest… To the baby eagle it makes no sense at all. Wings? What are they for?! He’s falling through the air. It doesn’t make sense!

And there’s the Parent-eagle with the overview, the power to rescue… understanding the sense in it…

Today I see sense in eagles, not ducks.