Soar Like and Eagle, Don’t Hide Like a Bird
Man, life can be so difficult sometimes! The older I get it seems like it never seems to be “neutral”; life seems to be handing me Oreos (those are my cookies y’all!) or it’s handing me cheese grits (obviously those make me sick)! Steve and I are IN a time in our lives that has been the hardest time OF our lives. In our minds, we were going to finish out our military career, "soar" into retirement and then do whatever our hearts desired. We didn't expect for Steve to have blood clots and lose his sight in Afghanistan, we didn't expect for him to be medivac'd back, we didn't expect for him to have to face the medical board for early retirement. None of this is anything that we EVER expected. But one thing we do know is that none of it is a shock to the Lord that we serve, the God who created us, and our Savior who has a plan. But... we have a choice in how we respond.
Did you know that when storms come, birds tend to hide and take shelter among the branches and leaves. Can you imagine? Sure, I am sure you could find a spot that seems comfortable to you, where it was a bit dry and appeared safe from the storm. However, under those leaves you wouldn't be able to go anywhere, you wouldn't be able to see anything else other than your present circumstances and surroundings. You would be completely stuck in one spot until the storm passed. You would be at the complete mercy of the storm.
OR... you could CHOOSE to be like the eagle! The eagle, on the other hand, uses the storm. An eagle knows when a storm is approaching WAY before it BEGINS? The eagle will fly to a high spot and wait for the winds to come. When the storm hits, it opens its wings and allows the wind to pick it up and lift it ABOVE the storm. While the storm rages BELOW, the eagle is SOARING ABOVE it. The eagle chooses to do this in order to find calmness and rest DURING the storm. The eagle does not escape the storm. It simply uses the storm to lift it higher. It rises on the winds that bring the storm. It CHOOSES to be at the MERCY of the wind.
It's the same thing with us. We have a choice every day, with every storm that comes our way. Many of you reading this may be in a MUCH bigger storm than what Steve and I are going through, and others of you may say, "well, my storm doesn't seem so big now", but regardless, each storm is still a storm, and each of you has a choice to make in where you go and how you respond. Are you going to dwell and hide among the leaves? Or, are you going to be at the mercy of the wind and soar above the clouds where you can find peace, rest, and perspective IN the storm, like the eagle? The difference with the eagle's choice is that the eagle can still see what is going on all around and have a much better perspective of the storm, the surroundings, the potential dangers, and probably when the storms are going to end.
In Philippians 4:6-7 Paul wrote
, "Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."
And 1 Peter 5:7, reminds us that God desires to take our burdens upon Him because He cares for us. When you choose to hide from the danger, go to what seems safe, try to solve the problems all by yourself rather than go to the One who gives you "rest", you are choosing to be anxious, you are choosing to be held captive by the storm rather than see the storm from His perspective. Sometimes the storm is His way of showing us how much He truly loves us and cares for us because it leads us to repentance, and sometimes it moves us in the right direction that we should have been going all along, and sometimes it's just part of the Fall and He's just going to be right there with us and help us through it and help us give Him the glory in the midst of it. But... regardless of how the storm came about, let us learn to spread our wings, be at the mercy of the wind, and allow it to help us rise above the storm where we can find peace, rest, and a new perspective.
God bless.
