Birds Walking Around

I saw a compelling bumper sticker a few weeks ago: "When birds can't fly, they walk." That got me to thinking about how we're all designed to fly in our own way, but we often limit ourselves to walking instead of flying. Let's face it, flying is dangerous. You can fall and hurt yourself. The fear of the potential pain keeps most of us earthbound. But flying also enables you to travel much farther than walking and see things from a perspective not possible from the ground. It also calls others to flight.

I have often taken pot shots at those "birds" I see soaring near me. How dare they fly around me, taunting me? Can't they see my wings have been clipped, that I'm not able to fly like they do? But it's easy to bring down those who are soaring. It's much more challenging to continue to care for my wounds and work on the healing I need to do in order to get to a state where flying is the most natural thing in the world. This is a state where walking seems silly. This is a state of mind that says to me, "Why wouldn't you just spread your wings and take flight? So what if you fall and get hurt? You'll be able to rise, heal, and try again."

I'm trying desperately to listen to and heed that voice. I pray it will grow stronger as my wings continue to heal and work themselves back and forth, priming themselves for that first (or next) big flight. And I pray that voice grows within you as well.

"Your Life Is Your Life" Quote from Taming Your Gremlin

This quote was so inspiring to me that I copied it and pasted it to my wall. Please let me know if you resonate with it as well or if it brings up questions or thoughts for you. Peace!

"One way or another we all at some point get hit in the face by a blast of wind, open our eyes, and see that we are not only on the bow of a colossal sailboat on an open sea, but that we’re the captain of the damned thing. Once you glimpse this fact of life, you have some choices. You can squeeze your eyes shut and make believe that you don’t have to take the wheel, you can run around flapping your arms and yelling “Somebody take the wheel, somebody take the wheel,” or you can take the wheel and learn to handle it.
If you settle down and trust the wind instead of fearing it, you’ll eventually become pretty good at sailing. You will find that while you don’t know what’s around the next cape, and while you may at times work up a soaking sweat trying to stay afloat in a nasty storm, all in all you can have a fine time sailing where you want to and occasionally you can drop anchor and bask in the sun. The breeze is always blowing, at least a bit, so keep your sails unfurled.
What you do with your life is up to you. It’s not up to your mom, your dad, your spouse, your pals, your coach, or your therapist. It’s all up to you. Just underneath the fear of being in command of your life is outrageous excitement about being in command of it. Best of all is the freedom – the freedom to lead your life your way, testing the waters on your won, getting your very own battle scars, and relishing your own rewards. You may hook up with a sidekick or two in this sea of life, but even those relationships will work best if each of you has a clear sense of ownership of your own life."

An Easter Psalm

You restore me and refresh me, my God.
You call me out of the grave, restoring my soul,
Blowing your breath into me,
Calling me back to life and vibrance.
All the world around me is vibrating with
Your love.

When I quiet the fears and doubts churning
Inside me, when I let them go,
I begin to hum harmonically with those notes.
I participate in the eternal song of praise
And worship that all of creation is singing to You.

Who am I that You would sing your song
Through me?
Who am I that You would come into this
World and do your work through me?
I am unworthy, limited, small, and broken.
Sometimes I think you have the wrong guy.

But then the dawn breaks, your sun shines forth.
And all is new.
And I am new.
And you are real. And here. And alive!

Praise be to the GOD of heaven and earth!
All creation sings together, Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God Almighty.
Amen. Alleluia!

Seeds and Stems

I was cleaning some grapes the other day and found myself complaining silently about the stems. “If only it weren’t for these stupid stems, this process would be much easier,” I said to myself. Then I thought, “It’s a good thing these are seedless grapes, because I hate seeds.” But wait, what about that? Where do they get the next generation of seedless grapes, anyway? But I digress.
I then realized that without the stems, there would be nothing attaching the grapes to the vine, so they wouldn’t be able to receive their nutrients. This holds true in life. No stems = no fruit. Likewise, without seeds, there would be no new growth or fruit in life. I don’t have to look far in my life to discover many “stems” - things that may not be very tasty but connect me to Life, and “seeds” - things that don’t bear fruit in my life in and of themselves, but with time, patience, and nurturing will grow into something much larger than themselves and bear fruit of their own. These aspects of life aren’t merely things to tolerate, they are necessary for life to be here in the first place. I’m learning to be thankful for these elements, both literal and figurative, recognizing that even these seemingly meaningless aspects of life still have a purpose in the big picture (of which I can only see a small corner). Engaging them with this attitude transforms my posture from one of defiance and resistance to an open, embracing one. It enables me to remain in a state of gratitude even while a seed gets stuck between my proverbial teeth.