Lessons From the Eagles

Driving along on a nearby country road the other day, I saw these two bald eagles in a tree back from the road. In the distance you can see their nest.
Stopping to look, then to snap this picture, it occurred to me that we human beings make life far too difficult. Even the raptors among us understand that, once in a while, you have to stop your soaring, hunting and working, and just sit and enjoy the day.
Enjoy the day.
What a novel idea! Enjoy the day.
Raised on a dairy farm where, as Dad would often say it, "There is never a lack of things to do", I was taught from early on to feel guilty if I just stopped to enjoy the day. My work ethic has driven me in farming, as a student, in ministry and, even now, in retirement: There is never a lack of things to do.
What is it that, at least for some of us, our inherent value is directly linked to our capacity to 'do'? The idea of taking time to sit on a branch not far from home and enjoy the day is antithetical to becoming the person I am supposed to be - at least in my mind. It may be one of my deepest struggles, even now in retirement, maybe more so in retirement.
How will God know that I am living for God and serving in the Kingdom if I am not always in motion, accomplishing all the things I perceive others believe me capable of doing? Then I look at this pair of eagles and pause, saddened by my disbelief.
God does not need my work, God desires my deepest devotion. This world drives my work and, without a thought, I succumb to its claims and offer my devotion. Where is the salvation in that?
As He walked the earth, Jesus stopped to sit with saints and sinners alike, ate meals with them and, as need arose, He healed and taught them. No scripture anywhere states that Jesus ran across the water to get Himself ready for the next crowd. No scripture anywhere records that Jesus did not have time for the people and things which mattered most in God's eyes, even if it was a lowly Samaritan woman at a well or Zacchaeus in a tree. "For everything under heaven there is a time . . .", are more than just words from the book of Ecclesiastes, it is the Truth in which Jesus shared His Life with us.
Enjoy the day.
It is supposed to be seventy degrees today with a fair amount of sunshine - and my list of jobs to do is long and thorough, even in retirement. Yet, maybe today would be a good day to take some time to enjoy the day, to sit in the sunshine, to thank God for the beauty of blooming daffodils and to drink in a bit of God's Goodness around us - much like these two eagles on the branch of this tree. 
"They Got All God's Work Done In Their Lifetime" . . . will never appear on anyone's tombstone, so do what you are gifted to do, serve as you are called to serve, work as you are blessed to work . . . and enjoy the day which God has given you. Not every moment should be spent on the limb of a tree but, then, if you never alight there breathless from your travels, you will never know how good it is to be fully rested in the One who raised for you the Tree of Life in which you are to find your shelter, today and forever.
Don't make this life so difficult - on yourself or on those around you. Enjoy the day.
Something to ponder on the journey.

Popular posts from this blog

How Do You Look?

Image
Have you ever wondered how you look in someone else's eyes? A fair number of people I know keep that concern close in mind as they select the clothes they wear, have their hair done, think about where they might find themselves - and with whom, and even as they choose what fragrance to wear. All that - for what one imagines others might see and perceive. Truth of the matter? Far more people will see you than you will ever know and, to a great extent, they will draw conclusions about you and who you are more by what you do and how you treat others, than by any personal appearance or attitude you work so carefully to project. Don't believe me? Consider this picture. Our farming neighbor across the fields, Judy Feig, sent this picture to me last evening. Seems she was outside their home and caught a glimpse of the setting sun reflecting off the barn at my brother's place and just could not pass on taking a picture and sending it to me. Oddly enough, though, Judy told me that t...
Read more

Time to Ban Lascivious Flowers and Their Colors

Image
It appeared this morning on today's edition of Sunday Morning on the local CBS network, a segment about the banning of books in our school systems and, by extension, in our local libraries. Much of the segment gave credit for the bans to an organization ironically named, 'Moms for Liberty'. Liberty must certainly have a different meaning today from when I grew up, but I digress. As I viewed the segment and the related story concerning the backlash from others across the country committed to making books, all kinds of books, available to anyone who wants to read them, it occurred to me that if we do not take this kind of oppressive authoritarian behavior seriously now and try to stop it, the next thing you know they will be trying to ban lascivious flowers and their colors, wherever they may be found - because, you know, flowers include the colors of the rainbow - and so much more. Having just received some absolutely stunning pictures of Spring flowers at Diamond Valley La...
Read more

Listen To The Graves of the Saints

Image
 "You need to stand and listen to the graves of the saints." In a Zoom meeting the other day, one of the members present observed that it seems our current world culture really has not learned much from our shared past. Referencing the overt bigotry against the LGBTQIA+ community, the ongoing racial unrest in so many forms, the painful grievous nature of the ongoing warfare in Ukraine, and our shared unwillingness to extend mercy and grace to others that they not be brought low by our stiff-necked system of beliefs within the Church itself, another of the participants, a Veteran of the military and of the cross as a minister, quietly, simply said, "You need to stand and listen to the graves of the saints." That so struck me, I wrote it down immediately and have been mulling on that wisdom ever since. What does it mean to, ". . . listen to the graves of the saints"? Then came the most recent of school shootings, this one in a Nashville, Tennessee, Christian...
Read more