Take it to the limit

     

     I have always been fascinated with the majestic eagle. King of the birds, it is a symbol of power, great strength, vigour and speed.  

Here are some amazing facts: 

     The bald eagle is not bald at all but has a white head; orange beak; as many as 7,000 glistening feathers; it can fly up to 40 miles per hour; soar up to 10,000 feet from the ground; its wing span can be seven feet wide; its keen sense of vision allows it to see four to seven times farther than humans; pairs mate for life; and it has a possible life span of 35 years. 

     It's been said, the eagle is the only bird that will fearlessly fly into a storm. What lessons we could learn from this amazing bird!

 

     The following is an excerpt from an article in the Jan. 2014 Crossroads Compass magazine: 

     "There's a story of a traveller who came upon an eagle's egg. He searched for the nest but found nowhere to return the egg. So, the man did the next best thing. He put the eagle's egg into a nest with chicken eggs. 
     Eventually, the egg hatched, and the eaglet fit right in with the other baby chicks. He clucked and scratched and pecked around and basically lived as a chicken for years. 
     And then one day, he saw a glorious sight. High, up in the sky with wings out-stretched, was a magnificent bald eagle.   
     Something stirred within him. Something called him to come up high. 'What's that?' he asked a nearby chicken. 'That is an eagle,' the chicken replied, 'the king of the birds. 'He soars and flies and has unlimited freedom — something we will never have.' 
     Upon hearing this, the chicken-eagle hung his head in sorrow and ignored the urge to join his brother high above the clouds. Sadly, he lived the rest of his life clucking and pecking and scratching. He never knew he could fly."   

     Perhaps for some of us, that could be our story. The eagle does not have to flap its wings in order to fly. It waits for the wind, and then mounts up on wings, soaring majestically, using the wind to ease its flight.  

     Isaiah 40:31 (NLT) reminds me that — "Those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles." 
   

     This is reminding me that as His child, I, too, have eagle wings but, like the eagle-chicken, I may not have learned how to use them. Trying to do life in our own power, often just doesn't work.     

     If I would rely on God in the same way an eagle relies on the wind, I could then relax into the current of His Love. He would willingly, "become the wind beneath my wings."  
      It reminds me of the song that Bette Midler made popular— becoming the Song of the Year in February, 1990. 

"I could fly higher than an eagle. 

For you are the wind beneath my wings." 

— Bette Midler    

     O, Lord, grant me the spirit of the eagle, that I may learn to soar and become the person you created me to be.

— beulah