<</div>Soaring Skyward With a Face Only a Mother Could Love
"There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven...a time to plant."- The Teacher (Ecclesiastes 3:1-2 NIV)
"Aim at Heaven and you will get Earth thrown in. Aim at Earth and you will get neither."- CS Lewis
For a short season in late winter, bald eagles return to the tall trees along the rivers of western Colorado. Living about a half-mile from the rushing water, my sightings are few and far between. I can count on my fingers the number of times I've seen a mature bald eagle fly directly overhead, but it always stops me dead in my tracks. Majestic is the only word for it. I never even see them flapping like the commoners of the bird world; they just seem to stretch their wingtips toward the sky and soar on currents of air. Their sole focus is finding lunch; they only dazzle me by accident.
Back in the nest, baby bald eagles are waiting for Mom to deliver the catch of the day. Unlike the cute offspring of cats, dogs, and most humans, baby birds are the opposite of majestic. They're fuzzy and gangly and awkward and they don't even know how to fly. 'A face only a mother could love,' comes to mind. Three short years from now, their head and tail feathers will grow in white. They'll return here to western Colorado to hatch babies and snatch rainbow trout from the river. Who but God could reveal His glory through the mechanics and miracle of perpetuating a species?
Meanwhile, back on Earth, I struggle with the simplest of tasks. What is effortless for God requires backbreaking labor from me. He carpets the forests with flowers and firs. I swing a pickaxe for an hour to plant to sapling. His warmth melts the winter snows, watering the forest and bringing the Earth back to life every spring. I drag the hose around the yard all summer lest my little pine shrivel up into a stick. I won't even be able to coax the smallest bird into its spindly branches for years.
Yet, God wants me to try. He lent me a yard that needs some love. Sure, it's His land, His tree, His water, and His sun. He doesn't need my help, as evidenced by the forests surrounding our valley. But He invites me to partner with Him in His work for the same reason He invites me to prayer.
"The point of prayer is not to get answers from God, but to have perfect and complete oneness with Him."- Oswald Chambers*
In His infinite brilliance God created trees and the cycle of life that surrounds them. While I can't recreate the physics of photosynthesis, I can plant a tree in my backyard and participate in the process. It's so like God to explain Himself and His purposes in ways I can understand, because His ultimate goal for my life is to win the love of my heart that I might share that love with others.
In the Teacher's Day, life revolved around the seasons of planting and harvest. Their daily sustenance came from their own gardens and local farmers and fishermen. The phrase 'a time to plant' carried a literal connotation that was familiar to all; the balance of planting and uprooting was woven into the fabric of their lives. In the Teacher's Day and throughout the centuries to come, God intended His Word to be understood by even the least of His children. I'm grateful He kept it simple enough for me.
Next spring, the eagles will return to nest by the river. If I'm lucky, I'll be out walking the dog and one will fly overhead. I have no idea how God created the eagle, but I know one thing about God: He doesn't dazzle me by accident. I'm a lot like the eaglet; all fuzzy and gangly and awkward, just learning how to fly, and possessing a heart that sometimes only my Father can love. For reasons known only to Him, He sometimes reveals Himself and His purposes to me. Occasionally He even lets me walk beside a friend. One day next spring, when an eagle flies overhead, I'll put my arm around her shoulder and point towards the heavens. We'll watch the eagle soar skyward together.
He told them this parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. Though it is the smallest of all your seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and perch in its branches." -Jesus Christ (Matthew 13:31-32, NIV)
*My Utmost for His Highest, August 6
"Aim at Heaven and you will get Earth thrown in. Aim at Earth and you will get neither."- CS Lewis
For a short season in late winter, bald eagles return to the tall trees along the rivers of western Colorado. Living about a half-mile from the rushing water, my sightings are few and far between. I can count on my fingers the number of times I've seen a mature bald eagle fly directly overhead, but it always stops me dead in my tracks. Majestic is the only word for it. I never even see them flapping like the commoners of the bird world; they just seem to stretch their wingtips toward the sky and soar on currents of air. Their sole focus is finding lunch; they only dazzle me by accident.
Back in the nest, baby bald eagles are waiting for Mom to deliver the catch of the day. Unlike the cute offspring of cats, dogs, and most humans, baby birds are the opposite of majestic. They're fuzzy and gangly and awkward and they don't even know how to fly. 'A face only a mother could love,' comes to mind. Three short years from now, their head and tail feathers will grow in white. They'll return here to western Colorado to hatch babies and snatch rainbow trout from the river. Who but God could reveal His glory through the mechanics and miracle of perpetuating a species?
Meanwhile, back on Earth, I struggle with the simplest of tasks. What is effortless for God requires backbreaking labor from me. He carpets the forests with flowers and firs. I swing a pickaxe for an hour to plant to sapling. His warmth melts the winter snows, watering the forest and bringing the Earth back to life every spring. I drag the hose around the yard all summer lest my little pine shrivel up into a stick. I won't even be able to coax the smallest bird into its spindly branches for years.
Yet, God wants me to try. He lent me a yard that needs some love. Sure, it's His land, His tree, His water, and His sun. He doesn't need my help, as evidenced by the forests surrounding our valley. But He invites me to partner with Him in His work for the same reason He invites me to prayer.
"The point of prayer is not to get answers from God, but to have perfect and complete oneness with Him."- Oswald Chambers*
In His infinite brilliance God created trees and the cycle of life that surrounds them. While I can't recreate the physics of photosynthesis, I can plant a tree in my backyard and participate in the process. It's so like God to explain Himself and His purposes in ways I can understand, because His ultimate goal for my life is to win the love of my heart that I might share that love with others.
In the Teacher's Day, life revolved around the seasons of planting and harvest. Their daily sustenance came from their own gardens and local farmers and fishermen. The phrase 'a time to plant' carried a literal connotation that was familiar to all; the balance of planting and uprooting was woven into the fabric of their lives. In the Teacher's Day and throughout the centuries to come, God intended His Word to be understood by even the least of His children. I'm grateful He kept it simple enough for me.
Next spring, the eagles will return to nest by the river. If I'm lucky, I'll be out walking the dog and one will fly overhead. I have no idea how God created the eagle, but I know one thing about God: He doesn't dazzle me by accident. I'm a lot like the eaglet; all fuzzy and gangly and awkward, just learning how to fly, and possessing a heart that sometimes only my Father can love. For reasons known only to Him, He sometimes reveals Himself and His purposes to me. Occasionally He even lets me walk beside a friend. One day next spring, when an eagle flies overhead, I'll put my arm around her shoulder and point towards the heavens. We'll watch the eagle soar skyward together.
He told them this parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. Though it is the smallest of all your seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and perch in its branches." -Jesus Christ (Matthew 13:31-32, NIV)
*My Utmost for His Highest, August 6
Posted by Rachel Ophoff at 8/6/2010 3:09 PM 
Categories: Praise, Friendship, Faith, Worship, Christian Writer, God, Hope, Christian Blogger, New Life
Tags: Celebrate Miracles Gods Plan Faith Ecclesiates 3 Hope The Message is from God
Categories: Praise, Friendship, Faith, Worship, Christian Writer, God, Hope, Christian Blogger, New Life
Tags: Celebrate Miracles Gods Plan Faith Ecclesiates 3 Hope The Message is from God
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