From the Desk of Jeff King

A day at the zoo

I groaned when my daughter Sara told me last week she wanted to celebrate her 15th birthday at the Seattle zoo. I mean, it would be wet, cold, and none of the animals would be out. Besides, isn’t our home enough of a zoo for her? But she persisted. Last Friday – with rain in the forecast – Sara prayed for good weather with the faith to move a hippopotamus.

I groaned again when I awoke Saturday morning and looked out the window. Not a cloud in the sky. I welcomed the sunshine, but taking the family and three of Sara's friends on an all-day zoo safari sounded like work. But we kept our promise to Sara. After breakfast we herded everyone into the mini-van and Accord and headed for the city. Inside the zoo, Sara, stepsister Kirsti and the friends took off, while Alisa and I, Darrick and Brianne set our own course – which, naturally, led us to the nearest snack bar. Alisa and I chugged our mochas, the kids grabbed their goodies and we were off. Every time I visit the zoo I feel a tug on my heart – it's hard to watch these magnificent beasts lumber in their cells, looking bored as they face the daily onslaught of baby strollers and video cameras.

Yet that doesn't diminish the sheer beauty and grace of these animals. God did a masterful work when he made the giraffe, peacock and leopard. We watched two playful otters dart through the water in an underground viewing area. A glass wall separated us, but we were nose to nose. It was here that it hit me – God must really take pleasure in these animals, as He does all His creation. Matthew 10:29 says a sparrow cannot fall to the ground apart from the Father’s will. Yesterday I read in Psalms 50, "I know all the birds of the mountains, and the wild beasts of the field are Mine." God is not slack in caring for and watching over His creation. Consider Job 38-39:

"Can you hunt the prey for the lion, or satisfy the appetite of the young lions, when they crouch in their dens, or lurk in their lairs to lie in wait? Who provides food for the raven, when its young ones cry to God, and wander about for lack of food? Do you know the time when the wild mountain goats bear young? Or can you mark when the deer gives birth? Can you number the months that they fulfill?"

That means anytime I see a hawk soar overhead, the Lord is watching as well. Last summer I thought of the Matthew passage about the sparrow when I discovered a dead bird in our backyard. It was one of the most beautiful wild birds I'd ever seen in the Northwest – yellow head and breast with gray and black markings on its wings. There were no wounds or blemishes. As I buried the bird in our flower bed, I sensed that this was a very intimate moment, as funny as that sounds. I was all alone; Alisa and the kids were in the house. Yet I felt God watching over my shoulder, affirming that, indeed, this was a creature He took great delight in.