One Wing

I got in the car to take Ellie to school and there was one, single, solitary wing staring at me from the windshield.

It was some sort of insect wing.

This isn't the actual wing because I didn't take a picture. I just turned on my
windshield wipers.

No body.

No legs.

No head.

Just the one wing.

I instantly wondered and supposed all the various circumstances that could have taken place to cause the one wing to be left on my windshield.

They were all pretty violent, 

ending with a one-winged bug hopelessly nauseous, 

spinning in out-of-control circles unable to get where he wanted to go 

because his other wing was lying on my windshield.

It was all very ironic in "The Twilight Zone" kind of way,

and oddly animated.

It was sunny and warm and I had had a good full night of sleep but this one wing on my windshield felt like the beginning of a bad day.

I dropped Ellie off and read my verse of the day from the bible app on my phone.

Romans 8:39

"…neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

So nothing can separate us from the love of God.

Nothing.

"… not death nor life, neither angels nor demons, 

neither the present nor the future, nor any powers…"

Romans 8:38

Not anything in all creation.

Not even a severed wing.

Separate.

The dictionary defines separate as,

"to keep apart or divide; to put, bring, or force apart; to remove or sever from association"

My study notes say that Paul wanted to show his readers in these verses that suffering does not separate believers from Christ but actually carries them along toward their ultimate goal.

So what can look or feel like separation 

can actually be huge strides forward.

That's a huge comfort to a mom dropping off a college freshman in two days who has felt a bit like the whole summer has been one big fast, barfy spinning-in-circles, not-really-going-anywhere, ride.

There has been a lot of wondering on the various situations of the future and many times we supposed the most ridiculous, violent endings that not even "The Twilight Zone" would think to ironically write.

And most certainly not in animation form.

But God holds us in His hand and looks at us spinning in one-winged circles with a love that not even our crazy imaginations can separate us from 

and then He carries us.

And leaves a wing on our windshield as a reminder.

"No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us."

Romans 8:37