That One Bird

Those of you who are long-time readers of my blog may remember that way back in October of 2010 I penned three posts about birds ... well, about members of the fowl community anyway. One post was about geese, one about an owl, and one about birds. And in each of those posts, I talked about the lessons I believed God was teaching me through different members of His feathered creations. Over two years ago, God drew my attention to a flock of geese in the sky, a hooting owl in a tree and a group of birds perched on a wire, all within a few weeks of each other. I hadn't thought about those feathery encounters in a long, long time ... until this afternoon as I stood gazing out the large window by my desk. I only thought I got what God was trying to tell me over two years ago ... this afternoon I realized that I didn't get it at all. This afternoon I realized that what He was saying back then wasn't for then ... what He was saying to me through the geese, the owl and the birds wasn't for where I was in life back then at all ... what He was saying through His winged creations then was for where I am today.

I've been in a funk for the last couple of days, and before you pepper me with questions ... I don't know why. Today was a day when I only left my desk when I had to, had great difficulty making eye contact with anyone and kept my communication to one or two word answers as much as I possibly could. Today was a day when I felt alone and different and apart and disengaged. Around 4 o'clock, I realized I hadn't eaten since late morning, so I took some yogurt out of my lunchbox and stood at the window by my desk as I tried to choke down the banana-flavored goop. I watched as a huge group of birds took flight from the top of the building across the street ... I watched those birds for a half-hour as they flew back and forth from one rooftop to another. I was absolutely mesmerized by the birds ... no ... I was absolutely mesmerized by one bird in particular. See here's the thing ... while the big group of birds all flew in the same direction, there was this one bird ... there was this one bird that flew in the opposite direction from all the other birds. Not once, not twice, but every single time ... every single time ... this one bird flew against the rest of the flock.

Remember a while back when I wrote about a friend who is holding me accountable about something I promised I would do twice each week? Well, I hadn't kept my promise this week, so before I left work this evening, I walked to my friend's desk to do what I promised I would do. And. It. Was. Hard. To. Do. Maybe as hard as it's ever been. And before you pepper me with questions ... I don't know why. As we talked, I told her about the birds ... about this one bird that was flying in the opposite direction than all the others. I told her I was that one bird, and I didn't want to be. I told her I wanted to fly with all the other birds. And then she said some truly profound things (as she often does) ... things that pounded in my mind and reverberated in my heart as I walked to my car following our conversation ... things that made me remember the geese and the owl and the birds from so long ago and realize that those lessons back then ... are ... for ... today.

God used the birds perched on the electrical wire to teach me about His power ... His same overwhelming, fathomless, mighty, unimaginable power that created the universe created me. God used the hooting owl outside my window to teach me about who He is ... He is my Savior, my Protector, my Healer, my King of Kings and my Lord of Lords. God used the flying V of geese to teach me about how He wants me to love ... His love is compassionate, sacrificial, enduring and loyal, and He wants me to love others just as He loves me. And God used the bird that flew a different way today to teach me about His grace ... His deep, abiding, never-ending, unfailing grace that is freely given to anyone who believes in Him.

Make me a bird on a wire, Lord, and help me to trust in Your power ... make me an owl in a tree, God, and show me who You are ... make me a goose in the sky, Father, and cause me to see the needs of others ... make me that one bird, God ... make me that one bird that flies only in Your direction.