Born to Fly

I got home from church the other night and as I walked toward the front door, I noticed a little bird sitting right in front of the garage door. As I got closer, the bird just sat there, motionless, which I thought was strange. I looked at it for a quick second as I passed by and went on inside the house. My intention was to go back outside before I turned in for the night to see if it was still there, but I forgot to. The next morning as I was heading out for my run, I heard a little squawking on the side of the house. I investigated further and saw a baby blue jay hopping around on the ground, doing its best to flap its wings, trying to take flight. Ah, that must be the same little bird from last night! So that’s why it just sat there, it was a little baby unable to fly yet! Within seconds an adult blue jay landed on the roof of the house, right above the baby. I could only assume this was Momma. She stayed on that roof, staring at me, almost daring me to come any closer to that baby. Meanwhile the baby was making all kinds of racket, chirping, squawking, hopping around the grass and flapping its little wings. I knew that Momma had been keeping an eye on that baby, even though it was obvious that the baby didn’t know it based on its frantic actions. The baby couldn’t see its Momma so I’m sure it felt unsure and scared. But that Momma was very near, the whole time, because it didn’t take long at all before she was in protection mode. I know very little about birds and will admit that I was slightly concerned. I wanted so badly to go pick that baby up and cuddle it, feed it and somehow let it know that everything was going to be okay. So I said a prayer as I went off on my run, “Lord that bird is on my property, so no harm can come near it, keep it safe, give it the strength to fly off on its own soon….” Then the Lord spoke to me saying, “I’ve already equipped that baby bird with everything it needs to fly successfully and function as I created it to.” I thought, “Oh wow, that’s so true. You’ve already completed everything in its design so it can fly and do what birds do.” Then the Lord said, “Right now he’s just going through the process of growing, learning and gaining strength so that he can take off and fly.” So I started thinking about that for the rest of my run and how it applied so beautifully to my life.

2 Timothy 3:17 says, “…so that God’s people may be up to the task ahead and have all they need to accomplish every good work.” 2 Peter 1:3 tells us, “For as you know him better, he will give you, through his great power, everything you need for living a truly good life: he even shares his own glory and his own goodness with us!” I often pray these scriptures over myself, just as a good reminder that He has equipped me with everything I need to do what He’s called me to do. I don’t know about you, but I don’t always feel like “flying”. Sometimes I feel like that little bird, just hopping around, looking for direction and help, trying to build up my strength just to get off the ground. I may be squawking, praying and crying out for aid and comfort. We can’t always “see” what the Lord is doing and how he is working things out on our behalf and shielding us from all kinds of danger. But oh how our Father is so mindful of us and we have a promise in Psalm 33:18 that “the eyes of the Lord are on those who fear Him.” He never sleeps nor slumbers. In Matthew 10 the Bible even talks about sparrows and how not even one can fall to the ground without the Father knowing it. Then in Matthew 6 it states we are far more valuable to Him than even the birds.

After thinking about the “equipping” portion of what He spoke to me, I then thought about the process He referred to. Process is defined as a series of actions of steps taken in order to achieve a particular end. I thought about different seasons in my life and I saw a process. I thought about how orderly the Lord is, and that even creation itself was a process. Seedtime and harvest, that is most definitely a process. I know for me there have been plenty of times when I’ve been nervous in the process. But the process is where we build strength. It’s where we learn and grow. The process has a purpose to get us to a particular end. No, it’s not always fun. We’d much rather be in the comfortable nest where food is brought to us and we’re not having to put any effort forth, but we were created for so much more than just to be nest-dwellers! He has equipped us! He is walking us through processes of learning and growing and He is strengthening us with His might! My prayer is that I never shy away from the process of stepping out of the nest and functioning in all that He has called me to.

When Abby was just a baby there was one song that would always calm her down when she was crying in the car. You’re probably waiting for me to name some beautiful worship song, but the song was “Born to Fly” by Sara Evans. It was probably the fun, up-beat tempo of the song that got her attention, because she was too young at that time to understand the words. The song is about a girl who just wants to spread her wings because she knows she was born to fly and do great things in life. I remember playing that song for her and always thinking, “Yes, Abby, you are born to fly and don’t ever settle for anything less than God’s best for you.” Looking back on that memory, I can’t help but think that is exactly how the Lord feels towards us as His children. Like, “Hey precious kids of Mine! I created you to do great things! I have equipped you with everything you need and I am strengthening you in the process as you grow and learn! Now spread your wings and fly!”