Under His Wings: Penguine Sex (and Faith)

Last night I was reading Blue Like Jazz: Nonreligious Thoughts on Christian Spirituality (2003) by Donald Miller. Chapter 5 opens with the heading "Penguin Sex (and Faith)." Startled and curious at the same time, I found out that Donald Miller (no relation by the way) was relating our internal voice of faith to penguins during their mating rituals.
Let me explain, although D. Miller does a much better job: penguins swim in large packs until they hit a chunk of ice. They then hop on the ice, and crawl on their belly (which carves little tunnels), until they feel the need to stop. The group of penguins (around 500+) begin something like a disco dance, finding their mate in such a large dance room. The ritual commences, the female lays the egg and hands it off to the male with her flippers. This is the interesting part: the male sits on the egg until it hatches.

Where did momma go, you ask? She's off hunting, grocery shopping, getting her nails done; you know, all the typical female busyness. She could be a hundred miles away. The males are left in the huge huddle collecting warmth with the center penguins circulating outward to keep the heat equal. As almost by maternal instinct, the female returns a month later to sift through the dance floor, find her man, and watch the babies crack the shell.

What's the point of all of this penguin talk? Have you ever felt like you had an internal radar that told you where to go, what to do, and that it all somehow made sense? Like the momma penguin showing up at the exact moment to find her babies being born, faith tends to act like an invisible radar. D. Miller explains, "I have a radar inside me that says to believe in Jesus. Somehow, penguin radar leads them perfectly well. Maybe it isn't so foolish that I follow the radar that is inside of me"(p. 57).

We all have that internal compass; that inner voice that nudges you saying "This sounds fishy," or "This is the better path." Most of us ignore our inner voice, what Christian's call the Holy Spirit, causing us to miss the highlights in our life and stray off course. Sometimes that voice comes in a whisper, you just have to be listening.