Wrapped in His Feathers

Hello folks! When I heard Amber tell this story I knew it would bless all of you as well. So this month the miracle is one shared by Amber Weigand-Buckley

Wrapped in His Feathers
by Amber Weigand-Buckley

One of the greatest miracles in my dad’s life happened in the last few months that he was on this earth.

In one day, one heart attack took him from the place of being a very strong 71-year-old, 6’3″ man to a man who required constant care. This painful journey lasted for a year.

It was almost surreal seeing his legs that never healed because of diabetes complications. He slept in his “lifting recliner” because he could barely breathe.

He would cry out to Mom to intercede for him in the middle of the night. Cry out for his healing that never came this side of heaven.

On one of his most desperate days, he sat in the backyard of his house, trying to pull every ounce of sunlight in to make his heavy mind feel better.

He closed his eyes and uttered this prayer: “God, are you still with me, in all this pain? Please let me know that You are still by my side.”

He opened his eyes to find that a white dove had landed in the nearby tree. All of a sudden, a feeling of peace surrounded him.

Then he said, “God if this is You, could You bring that dove down to me?”

As soon as he spoke the words, that white bird flew down to where he was seated. As the dove nudged closer, Dad extended his hand to gently stroke its feathers. Then to Dad’s amazement, the bird gentle walked up into his palm and cooed, as if speaking right to him words of comfort, in a way that only the Comforter of heaven could.

That bird stayed in my father’s hands until Dad released him to fly back up into the tree.

Then Dad prayed again, “God, could you let that bird stay here until Joyce comes home from work?”

Hours later, when my mother arrived, that bird again flew down from that tree. This time, it landed on the fence beside her, then gently climbed into her hands. Then, when Mom finally released it, the dove returned to the same spot, right in the tree.

Even though that prayer didn’t take away Dad’s pain or change his situation, over the course of the next week, the bird stayed perched in the tree. However, in this dark pit of his final days, before a glorious healing, Dad felt the Comforter was there, in the midst of the excruciating struggles to his final place of complete rest. And even in that extended time of pain, God provided relational healing for our family.

This story reinforces the truth of Psalm 91:4: “He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings, you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart” (NIV).

This is the kind of story I want to pass down to my children and my children’s children, not just because it’s a miracle from the past. And not just because it reminds us that God doesn’t always answer prayers the way we would like.

It is a reminder that the God Who brought something as simple as a dove—the wrap of His feathers—into the middle of my father’s pain, is the caring, attentive, comforting Father we serve.

I know that this one story of God’s love and faithfulness is just a journal page in the book of life. The miracles that He has written in the past will continue to be written in my todays and tomorrows. We have to mindfully open our eyes to see God’s promises and presence actively unfolding in our daily lives.

And every time I see doves that circle the sky our back yard from a local wedding venue, I know and have shared with my kids through the years that it continues to be a gentle feathery nudge from the Father, “I see you right where you are, and I am here for you too.”

In the very same way, He is there and wants you to see His love lavishly poured out for you daily. Even in the pain of these frail bones and dirt, we wear in a world where pain, loss, and grief happens, He is with us and He cares deeply for us on every level. And no matter how many generations pass, His story never changes.

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Article adapted with permission from Leading Hearts magazine (leadinghearts.com)

About Amber:

Specializing in Global Brand and Communications Management, #barefacedcreative owner Amber Weigand-Buckley @barefacedgirl is a member of the Advanced Writers and Speakers Association (AWSA) and has over 20 years of award-winning multi-media experience. The publications she has served have received over 25 awards from the Evangelical Press Association. She was named the 2015 AWSA Member of the Year and the 2018 Evangel University Distinguished Communications Alumni of the Year. Currently, Amber serves authors and speakers in many consultancy, coaching and communication strategy capacities including her role as Marketing, Communications and Brand Director for the Right to the Heart Ministry Network, which includes AWSA.

Amber is the founding editor and Art Director of Leading Hearts magazine (which has received an Evangelical Press Association award every year of its 7 years of publication. Amber is the former co-host of a weekly FB Live video podcast and internet radio show, Something 2 Celebrate on the Acts Media Network. She also serves Asia Pacific Media (a ministry based in Manila, Philippines) as a fundraising consultant as well as editor and art director for their multi-media e-mag MISSION magazine. In partnership with AP Media, this summer she traveled to Asia Pacific Theological Seminary in Baguio, Philippines, to teach media missionaries from Myanmar, Indonesia, India, and the Philippines to how to launch a Christian publication at their home churches.

Amber has been married to Brit-native, Philip, for over 26 years and they have 3 daughters: I Saffron, Imogen and Penelope . In their spare time, her family enjoys doing reptile education in Springfield, Missouri and their surrounding communities as members of the Southwest Missouri Herpetological Society).

Join the conversation…How has God used nature to speak miracles into your life?