letter to our readers

Suzanne Smedley

I saw my first live stork a few months ago, the afternoon I arrived at Burg Hohenberg, in rural Germany. She was standing at the edge of her huge nest on top of the castle watchtower. It looked as though she was watching over not only her nest, but the whole village.

Being from the northeastern US, the only stork I'd ever seen before was pictured on a ceramic tile given to my mom by a friend of hers when I was born. It was carrying a bundle in its beak (supposedly me) and on it were listed all the vital statistics about my arrival: date of birth, name, weight, etc. As a kid, whenever my mom pulled it out of the kitchen drawer to use as a hot plate, I wondered what on earth storks had to do with babies!

After returning home from my trip, I finally learned what the connection was. My encyclopedia explained that, as legend has it, storks bring new babies to the home. Apparently, the legend arises from the fact that they take such loving care of their young. In fact, storks are respected in many parts of the world.

Unaware of these facts back in Hohenberg, I was amazed to watch my “German” stork throughout my weekend in the village. No matter what time of day or night I looked up, or what the weather, she was at her post faithfully caring for her two babies. When her mate arrived at the nest one afternoon, she flew off for a time, and later returned to take over. But from what I observed, her children were never left alone or unprotected. They were carefully watched over, fed, and sheltered.

It served as a powerful image to me of the way God mothers and fathers me and each of us. In fact, the Bible often uses the imagery of a bird's wings in describing God's protective, loving relationship with us. For example, the 91st Psalm says, “He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust” (Psalms 91:4 ).

This special 2003 teen issue of The Herald of Christian Science includes articles written by young people around the world who are learning to trust “under his wings.”

We hope you enjoy the issue!
Suzanne Smedley
Teen Editor

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