Marsupial Country

Marsupials are yet another group of bizarre creatures that populate Australia. Their young are born tiny, pink, blind, and icky, immediately departing on a grueling 15-minute trek to find nourishment from their mother's milk glands in the pouch. In the warm refugia of the pouch, the joey incubates for several months before it is presentable enough to greet the outside world. Then for several more months, the joey enjoys autonomy, able to explore on its own. Simultaneously it enjoys the option of taking it easy and riding along in its mother's pouch until it finally outgrows that convenient vehicle.

We humans find marsupials irresistibly cute. We involuntarily coo "Awwwww!" when we see the little koala pictured here. An image of a kangaroo with a little joey's head popping out of the pouch likewise carries a near-lethal dose of adorableness. Why do you suppose we get all moist-eyed for the marsupials? They are furry - this fact alone qualifies them for levels of cuteness that a reptile would gladly give his pinky claw to attain. In addition, many marsupials sport large, radar-dish ears that remind us of bunnies, which, since the "The Velveteen Rabbit" have never failed to rank in the top 10th percentile for cuteness.

But I think the thing that really ratchets up the cute for marsupials has to be the pouch. Think about it - even the word pouch makes us purse our lips, adopting the perfect position for cooing soft words or kissing small, furry noses. We think of the pouch as mother's security blanket, always there for the little joey. Difficulties abound in these bushlands, and when we tire of our trials, we too would like to be carried in a soft, warm pouch.

It is so hard to find that pouch. Life at home can be just as harrowing as life at work. Our beds are so often filled with sleeplessness rather then rest. Sometimes, God alone is our comfort.

Psalm 91 says,

"[The LORD] will cover you with his feathers,
and under his wings you will find refuge"

I think that if the psalmist had ever laid eyes on a marsupial he would have been all over that analogy like fuzz on a wallaby.

"[The LORD] will hold you,
and in his pouch of love you will find refuge"

I might as well tell you that my first idea for the Australia blog's title was "Marsupial Country: God's Pouch of Love." It was rejected in favor of something a little less saccharine. Also less geeky. Ash and Jared, count your blessings.

Image by Flickr user Erik K Veland licensed for non-commercial use.