Hey, Carpool Crew. Welcome back. I'm Pastor Justin, and maybe you're headed to school, finishing breakfast, or sitting on the couch wrapping up some homeschool. I'm really glad you're here. You know when your teacher says it's a lockdown drill, and the lights go off, and it gets quiet in a way a classroom is never quiet, and your heart is beating fast even though you know it's a drill? Yeah, I've been in situations like that, and so have my kids. So let's jump into the one thing I want you to remember for the ride. God covers you like a mother bird. Listen to this from Psalm 91:4, "He will cover you with his feathers. You will take refuge under his wings. His faithfulness will be a protective shield." So here's what's going on. Psalm 91 is a song about God protecting his people, and the writer uses a picture that everybody back then had seen, a mother bird. When something comes near her nest, she doesn't fly away. She spreads her wings and puts herself over her babies. That's what the song says God is like. He covers you. You're under his wings, and his faithfulness, which means he always does what he says. He's like a shield. Now, I'm not gonna tell you a lockdown drill is nothing. Grown-ups practice it because they wanna keep you safe, and keeping you safe matters. It's real. I wanna keep my kids safe. Your parents wanna keep you safe. And brave police officers, the brave people that protect your school and your communities, they are people doing courageous jobs that God would want them to do. They have courage, and they are protectors. Next time you're in a drill, just look around the room. Your teacher is standing by the door. There's a grown-up in the hall checking the handle. Somebody in the office who started the drill on purpose did it to make sure that everyone knows what to do. Every one of those grown-ups moved toward you to keep you safe, and God is in that room with you. You are under His wings, in the dark, on the floor, in a bathroom. Your heart is going, but He is there with you. Yeah, it's a drill, but maybe it's also a storm warning. Maybe it's a night your parents are out of town, and you have a babysitter over, and the house is just making some weird noises. Or the time you got separated from your parents at a store, and you didn't know what to do. So the next time during a drill, I want you to do this. Count the grownups, your teachers, the one in the hallway, the one in the office. Counting is something your brain can do that isn't scary and keeps your mind busy. Then just say in your head, "God's got me. God's got me." Because it's true. He loves you, He's protecting you, and He's covering you up like a big mother bird. Hey, let's go back to the one thing I want you to remember. God covers you like a mother bird. Remember, no matter where you are or how you're listening, God loves you. And parents, if you've been loving the podcast, would you be willing to share it in a Facebook group in your community or just send out a text to some other parents you know? Maybe they would love the podcast too. It would be really helpful. Now, before you go, let's answer this question together. Who are the grownups in your day who move toward you when something is scary? I'll see you tomorrow on Carpooling with Jesus.
