I became hooked on a TV series called Meerkat Manor, where researchers studied and filmed a meerkat clan for over ten years. One of the most interesting revelations was the interactive behavior of the cute ten-inch-long critters who often stand erect on their hind legs. I found some of their habits endearing and even moving. The commentator may have anthropomorphized a bit too much—giving human characteristics to animals—but the meerkats’ behavior is fascinating.
One of my favorite observations is how one or more meerkats will comfort a hurt clan member. Perhaps it suffered a predator’s bite, a beating by another meerkat (relationships are complicated and disturbing at times), or rejection by other meerkats. In their world, which is replete with dangers, the little mammals will not survive without help and support from their clan members.
In one episode, an injured female meerkat stood alone—shivering, head down, and overwhelmed with anxiety—after receiving a beating. It was painful to watch. The commentator said, “Daisy is shaken by her unexpected experience and stands alone and confused. Finally, her sister Melody comes over and gives welcome comfort to the poor little thing.”
The kind, caring one is pictured comforting the hurt relative—touching and patting the other with its little paws, grooming (getting rid of ticks), and keeping the hurt and lonely meerkat warm that night with its own body heat.
We’ve all felt like Daisy, shaken by an unexpected experience and scared and isolated in our misery. One moment, all is well. The next, it’s not.
Little Daisy and Melody. What a picture of God’s care and love for us. He is the God of all comfort, after all. Additionally, I find the meerkats’ kind actions a vivid reminder of how we humans could do better at coming alongside hurt believers in Christ. After all, they are part of our clan. With that kind of comfort received and given, we can press forward.
Think of something you can do today to demonstrate comfort to someone in the family of God.
A Wisconsin native, Lauri Lemke Thompson lives in the lovely Ozark Mountains in Branson, Missouri. She is active in Christian Women’s Connection (Stonecroft) and the Ozarks Chapter of the American Christian Writers. Her two books, Hitting Pause and Pressing Forward, are collections of her columns, articles, and devotions. Her bimonthly column appears in the Branson Globe newspaper.