From My Heart
Louise Gibson
My maternal instinct is to protect and nurture the young.
A new-born is so defenseless, you’ll agree.
So when I read an account of a newborn giraffe,
it disturbed the “mother” in me.
The giraffe is strange and homely creature in appearance,
and his movements are awkward and peculiar to see.
Giraffe child-birthing is so strange and so bizarre-
Why it is so is a mystery to me.
Gary Richmond wrote an article on giraffe calves
that caught my attention.
It offended my maternal instincts, to be true.
Allow me to share what little I know.
Let’s see how it resonates with you.
Gary had been invited to a zoo where a native giraffe
was about to give birth. The anticipated moment was
not a disappointment. A calf, a plucky male hurled forth,
falling ten feet and landing on its back. The mother giraffe
gives birth to its young standing up, and the distance from
the birth canal to the ground is about ten feet.
Are you still reading? Think of this. Ten foot is about the
height for dunking a basketball, plus about four extra inches
So the calf falls out of its mother ten feet above ground
and landed on its back. It lay there a few moments and
then, according to the story, it scrambled over to get its
legs underneath so that it could take a look around and
check out the world it had just entered.
The mother lowered her head to see the baby, then
she moved until she was directly above the calf.
About a minute passed and then came a shocking surprise.
The mother moved her great long leg outward and booted
her baby through the air. The calf sprawled head over heels
across the ground puzzled and protesting.
The zoologist explained, “She wants him to get up-
and if he doesn’t get up, she is going to do it again.”
Sure enough, the process was repeated again and again.
And the struggle to rise was momentous. And as the baby
grew tired of trying, the mother would again stimulate its
effort with a hearty kick.
Amidst the cheers of the animal staff the calf stood up
and for the first time, wobbly to be sure, but there it stood
on its wobbly legs. They were struck silent when the
mother knocked it off its feet again.
“To remember how it got up”. Doesn’t God nurture us
in just the same rough way sometimes? And if we are
ignorant as to His methods and purposes, the actions can
seem cold and even cruel..
We finally struggle to our feet, and it seems we are kicked again.
But our Heavenly Father knows that love must be tough-
and it must take the long view. God knows the world will
fall apart and we must be sturdy ourselves to stay on our feet.
Life has thrown us a curve, and it’s a hard thing for us
to cope with. Even so Lord…praise Your blessed name.
Tags: #FridayPoems, Baby Giraffe, Christian, Christian Poet, Florida Poet, God, Poetry
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