GREAT LOVE for us: Advent Week 4 the YNP edition

The cold air stung my throat with each breath, but I barely noticed. The wolves had just woken up and were playing out in the sage. I had spent countless hours reading about this wolf pack, looking at pictures of them, and watching YouTube videos about them. But seeing them with my own eyes out there in the wild—well, I just couldn’t believe it!

Lamar Valley

 And then I saw her. F926, the female leader (alpha) of the Lamar Valley wolf pack. I sucked in my breath and couldn’t even move! There she was right in plain sight and I could feel my heart thudding under my thick layers of clothing.

 

F926, taken by Kathy Rowland.
http://www.yellowstonewolf.org/yellowstone_wolf_detail.php?log_id=2080

My husband Vern was grinning ear to ear as he set up the scope and focused in on the wolf pack. The kids were standing with eyes popping out of their heads with excitement. We all knew that if we could see them this good with the naked eye, seeing them with the scope was going to rock our worlds!

Vern knew that I had a “thing” for F926, and so he had carefully focused in on her. I’m not sure what it is about her that attracts me. Perhaps the fact that she is the daughter of the famous F832 alpha female that could take down bull elk without any help. Perhaps it was that she had endured the deaths of 3 mates and 2 litters of pups in just under 18 months and continued to show a fierce drive to live.

Or maybe what really fascinated me was the notch in her right ear that clearly had a story behind it that nobody could tell. Perhaps it had happened in that fight they had with the 12 wolves from the Prospect Peak a few years back when her mate, M925 had acted as a decoy so she could escape. He didn’t survive the attack.

I lowered my eye to the optical, hands shaking with excitement.

She looked incredibly wild. The sun was just rising and it caught the rusty brown highlights in her dark brown fur as she pointed her nose into the wind for a good sniff. Even from this distance, you could see her green eyes dancing as the sun greeted her face. Then she effortlessly turned and trotted towards the elk herd nearby, the rest of the pack following loosely behind.

F926 to the left of the elk

I knew we would all be content to stay there at the Jackson Overlook for the next few hours, despite the cold temperatures. Just being near the wolves was thrilling and we wanted to have that feeling for as long as we could.

I imagine that is how we are meant to feel about being with Jesus. That we are so thrilled and content being in His presence that we don’t ever want to leave.

Did you know that Jesus feels the same way about us? He wants to be with each one of us so badly that He became human and sacrificed His life so we could be together for eternity. There is no greater love than that. (John 15:13)

Family time.

1. Play a game. Have you ever heard the phrase “I love you to the moon and back”? Make up a new phrase that tells how much you love your family.

2.  At some time in your life, you have experienced excitement at seeing someone or something. Share with the family about that. Why were you so excited about it? Is there anything that could’ve made that experience even more exciting?

3. Seeing and holding a baby is very exciting, particularly for the parents and family. But unlike other babies, Joseph and Mary and many others (the shepherds, the wisemen) knew exactly why Jesus had been born. How do you think that changed their excitement? Is it possible to have that kind of excitement for a normal human baby? Why or why not?

4. Read Revelation 1:7. Who will see Jesus when He comes back to earth? This verse says that some who see Him coming back to earth will be sad. Who do you think will be sad and why? Will you be sad when you see Jesus again? Why or why not?

5. We could only see the wolves from a distance, but when we see Jesus in eternity, He will be so close that we will be able to touch Him and talk to Him. What do you think that will be like? How is that going to be different from our experience with the Lamar Valley wolf pack?

LOVE for the hunted: Advent Week 3 the YNP edition

They were coming for her. She knew it in the very pit of her stomach. She needed a plan. There were few choices since the snow in their valley was so deep that one wrong step would find her covered to the ears in it. And then they would have her and any of those who followed her.

The thought of being hunted didn’t scare The White Lady of the Canyon Wolf pack. They had fought with the Mollies pack before who were giants in comparison to her small band of followers. The Mollies were bloodthirsty, ruthless, and constantly out to expand their territory.

White Lady
From: http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/shooting-rare-white-lady-wolf-10430852

The slight winter wind lifted the blazing white fur on her back that matched the white of the newly fallen snow.  She lifted her nose in a defiant howl that would call her family to her side to fight again for their very existence. The giant Mollies rushed down from the hilltop above, their prey in sight.

“Wake up!” the angel shook Joseph awake with quick instructions to take Mary and Jesus to Egypt.

For they were being hunted.

First, by the magi. The wise men from the east. These hunters followed the star to Bethlehem so that they could worship the Christ child and give Him gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.

But the second hunter was not interested in worshipping the Christ child. No, King Herod wanted to hunt Jesus down and kill Him. That’s why the angel called on Joseph to take Mary and Jesus to Egypt. But King Herod did not know who Jesus was, only the general area in which Jesus had been born. So he had all of the baby boys under the age of 3 killed in Bethlehem and the surrounding area. Just to be sure his prey had not escaped.  

But they had escaped. After the angel had left, Joseph got up and stood over Mary and the tiny baby Jesus. Joseph was just a simple carpenter from a small village. But his giant heart and his never-ending courage would give him the resolve to do whatever it took to protect his family. And so, as the angel instructed, Joseph would take Jesus and Mary to Egypt where they would be safe.

Wolves do not know a “safe” place. Even in Yellowstone, the wolf packs hunt each other to gain more territory, just as the Mollies had done time and time again with The White Lady’s pack.

But the wolves are not just hunted by other packs.

They are hunted by humans.

We had been so excited that we might see The White Lady of the Canyon Wolf pack on our trip to Yellowstone. For many years, visitors from all over the world had gone to the park just to catch just a glimpse of her. Anyone who posted pictures or stories about her on the internet would experience an immediate following of countless fans. She was unusual because her coat was completely white and she led her pack with such strength against incredible odds.

But we would not get to see her. You see, one month before we arrived in Yellowstone, hikers in the park would find her barely alive from a lethal gunshot wound.

Man had seen The White Lady of the Canyon Wolf pack as prey to be hunted rather than protected.

Family Time 

1.     Play a game. For this one, the house must be dark and everyone needs a flashlight. Pick one person to hide and give them a few moments to go hide. The rest of you split up and try to find the person hiding. Use your flashlights to look for them. All of you can stay together, or split up to find the “it”. If you decide to split up, make sure you alert the others to come where you found the person who was “it”. Talk about how this game feels so much different from the first week’s game we played where you all squished into the same space when you found the “it”.

2.     There are a lot of different ways that we can feel “hunted”. One example is when someone keeps an eye on you hoping you will make a mistake so they can get you in trouble. Jesus experienced this a lot during His time on earth. What are some other ways that we can feel like we are being hunted?

3.     Has there ever been a time when you protected someone? How did that make you feel? How do you think Joseph felt taking his family to Egypt? Do you think the fact that his job was to protect Jesus the Son of God made it easier or harder? Why?

4.     Read Matthew 12:14. Why do you think the Pharisees wanted Jesus dead? How do the Pharisees remind you of the Mollies Wolf pack from our story?

5.     Sometimes we can see the qualities of Jesus in other people—particularly those who are Christians. However, we can also see qualities of Jesus in nature. How does the she-wolf called “The White Lady” remind us of Jesus?