Sandgrouse (Pterocles namaqua) ~ The Providing Father



The life of a Sandgrouse is lived in storms.  Their habitat is a sea of sand, burning and corrosive.  There is no shelter from the heat or from the deadly sandstorms that rip across the landscape.  The ruddy deserts of Africa are barren a landscape as you can imagine.  Yet the sandgrouse is perfectly at home here.  They scour the desolate plains to find seeds deposited in the sand months or years ago by plants; seeds carried in storms.  After a brief rain falls, they fly as far as 50 miles to find a puddle.  These conditions may sound nearly impossible, yet biologists are fascinated to find that the Sandgrouse not only survives, he thrives.  This bird exhibits many unique features attributing to a lifestyle thriving in storm.  For instance, Sandgrouse chicks must survive the battering heat of day under the shade of their mother.  They have neither the feathers nor the strength needed to fly the 50 miles or so to a watering hole.  So how do they get water?  The male, upon finding such a watering hole, crouches down in the puddle and ruffles his feathers.  Underneath his normal down there are specialized filaments, designed to absorb water like blotting paper!  Once the breast feathers have soaked up the moisture, the male takes off again and finds his nest where the female is waiting with the chicks.  It’s quite heartwarming to watch the male as he returns, for the moment the chicks see him they go rushing out, cheeping happily, and gather around his breast.  They line up and suck the water from the feathers, for all the world looking like puppies or kittens.

How precious that in the storm, we can still pour out praise to our God!  How precious that when calamity comes, when the heat of battle rages, when the drought sets in, the Holy Spirit of God falls on us like rain.  The Bible talks about the rejuvenating power of the Holy Spirit, “whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior” (Titus 3v6).  I doubt it is a coincidence that he Holy Spirit is so often compared to water.  Water means life in biology, and the Spirit means life in the soul.  There are times when I reflect on a difficult season of life—a season of sand and burning sun and storm—and remark at how my heart praised God all the more.  Then I remember Who it was that sustained me, Who it was that went the distance, covered the miles I could not, and brought me life.

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