A TRUE STORY

After a forest fire in Yellowstone National Park, forest rangers began their trek up a mountain to assess the inferno's damage. One ranger found a bird literally petrified into ashes, perched statuesquely on the ground at the base of a tree. Somewhat sickened by the eerie sight, he knocked over the bird with a stick. When he struck it, three tiny chicks scurried from under their mother's wings. The loving mother, keenly aware of the impending disaster, had carried her offspirng to the base of the tree and had gathered them under her wings, instinctively knowing that toxic smoke would soon rise. She could have flown to safety, but had refused to abandon her babies. When the blaze had arrived and the heat had scorched her small body, the mother had remained steadfast. She had been willing to die, so that those under the cover of her wings would live.

Is there a lesson here for you and for me?