Learning to Fly Like an Eagle

It is all about seeing if the wind will carry you. I've watched the eagles’ nest in Big Bear Valley with Mom and Dad, Jackie and Shadow, and their two babies almost daily for the last three months. The “cam” has given millions of us a "bird's eye view," so to speak, of the babies, Sunny and Gizmo, growing from grey fuzzy balls into feathered eagles about the same size as their parents. It has been determined that both babies are girls.
 
Practice is what makes any task doable. Such is the case with the eaglets who are now called fledglings as they prepare to fly. Preparation includes jumping up and down, and flapping their wings, and testing the wind currents. I read that birds have an inherent ability to fly that develops during their physical maturation. Daily, Sunny and Gizmo step out onto the large branches around the nest and do wing exercises to help them build up strength and agility. Monday morning, we were all treated to the exciting view of Sunny finally taking her first flight. Her confidence combined with the draw of the wind convinced her to spread her wings and soar. She did not return to the nest until the next day, when she shared a fish with her sister. Gizmo, the younger of the eaglets by a few days, waited until yesterday to take flight from the nest tree.
 
Watching these eagles prepare for their flight showed me that they are made to fly. Like the eagles, Christians are also made to soar in heavenly places. The prophet Isaiah encourages us in our call to fly with the Lord, "But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint." (Isaiah 40:31) When it is time for us to fly, God stirs up our "nests" just as the eaglets’ parents do. He does this so we learn to soar on heights. Like the eaglets, we must learn to fly on our own and feed ourselves daily.
 
Learning to fly can be a metaphor for life. There is a process involved that we must embrace so we reach our destinations. Taking flight releases us from our limitations. As we begin flying, we should recognize that flight presents us with opportunities and challenges. A comforting thought should be that the Holy Spirit is with us to help us make the right decisions about how to negotiate the terrain that is before us. In addition, we have an example that was set by Jesus so we can soar like Him. Recall how He regularly spent time waiting on His Father and resting before "taking flight." As we wait on the Lord, we rest and bind together with Him so that our weakness becomes strength and power.
 
The secret to the flight of eagles is their ability to use air currents to soar. They only flap their wings in preparation to reach the good air currents. God has given them an innate ability to sense the motion of the wind currents. Eagles will intentionally head into the winds of a storm, because the strong winds will take them higher and they will have the ability to see things from an expanded perspective. This is our call. God takes us over the clouds of our difficulties so that we can see life from His perspective.
 
Here is our challenge: We must spread our wings of faith to catch the winds of the Spirit and soar to greater heights to live like Jesus did and realize the destiny God has for us.