A Gaggle of Geese

It’s that time of year—in the Midwest, at least—when the amazing happens:  the Canada geese make their annual trek to the warmth of the south for the winter, passing through on their way.  I am always awestruck at this God-given impetus within them as I see a gaggle flying, in tight V-formation, against a clear blue autumn sky.  What is it that triggers their need to get going?  As the leaves begin to fall, and the wind cools, does God whisper in their ears of the shortening days?
     There’s a lovely little pond behind our home, and it seems it’s become a popular wayside inn for a number of our feathered friends each year.  I love hearing their earnest honking, sometimes in the middle of a foggy night—their plaintive, somewhat melancholy sound matching the plaintive, melancholy feelings in my soul upon having to say goodbye to another summer, not able to fly south, like they do, to escape the coming grey days of the winter cold.  

    With this increased seasonal population of geese, it’s not at all unusual to have to hit the brakes for a group of them as they make a valiant march across any number of local roadways.  It’s not so bad on a side street in town at 30 miles per hour, but alarming on a 4-lane highway outside of town that cuts across the prairies where they graze, at 55 or 60.  It would be almost comical, the way they take their time—waddling and then pausing to crane their necks, webbed feet on dirty pavement, unhurried, totally unaware of my hurriedness in getting somewhere—if it wasn’t so precarious for them.  I hold my breath as cars from the opposite direction speed toward their graceful bodies.  Will the drivers see them and stop in time?  Unfazed by the squealing tires, they purposefully cross in single file, as the line of traffic builds in both directions...  

    So I’m sitting in my car, tapping my fingers on the steering wheel with a bit of impatience, and I say out loud, as if they can hear me, “But you can fly !  Instead of risking your lives, you can easily glide above the road, out of danger!  Use the wings God gave you!”

    And in that moment, I am stunned by this thought: Isn’t that so like me.  How often I don’t use the wings God gave me, stubbornly tethered to the earthly, bent on doing it my own way (which inevitably ends up being the more perilous, precarious way) even when I know His ways are higher than my ways, even when he's proven this to me over and over.  I trudge along my road through the danger, toil and snare du jour, often coming at me from both directions, mostly on my own steam. Slogging through, sometimes joyless, with gritted teeth, to get to the other side. This, when my powerful God has equipped me with everything I need to soar, to mount up with wings as eagles in a clean, clear, wide open sky, and do it the heaven way. His way.  The far superior way.  The way of joy.

    Which is followed by another stunning thought:  Isn’t it so like God, who is not tapping his fingers on the steering wheel, who is not impatient with me, as he looks on while I waddle along on the low road for a season, when I could be flying.  How beautiful is his long-suffering, how he waits, waits for me to use all he’s given me to live victoriously in this life, being all he has designed me to be in Christ.  To let go of, rather than hang onto, the things that weigh me down.  To rise above. He lovingly watches, allowing me to learn from my mistakes, only encouraging, with no condemnation.   

    Dear God, please whisper in my ear about the shortening days, and let me fly, O Lord, let me fly.    




100 Most Beautiful Words                 

ebullient

Bubbling with enthusiasm.

effervescent

Bubbly.

efflorescence

Flowering, the opening of buds or a bloom.

elixir

A good potion.

Quotes

It is the consciousness of the threefold joy of the Lord, His joy in ransoming us, His joy in dwelling within us as our Saviour and Power for fruitbearing and His joy in possessing us, as His Bride and His delight; it is the consciousness of this joy which is our real strength. Our joy in Him may be a fluctuating thing: His joy in us knows no change. 

James Hudson Taylor

If you don't feel strong desires for the manifestation of the glory of God, it is no because you have drunk deeply and are satisfied.  It is because you have nibbled so long at the table of the world.  Your soul is stuffed with small things, and there is no room for the great. 

John Piper

  

When you find that weariness depresses or amusement distracts you, you will calmly turn with an untroubled spirit to your Heavenly Father, who is always holding out His arms to you. You will look to Him for gladness and refreshment when depressed, for moderation and recollection when in good spirits, and you will find that He will never leave you to want. A trustful glance, a silent movement of the heart towards Him will renew your strength; and though you may often feel as if your soul were downcast and numb, whatever God calls you to do, He will give you power and courage to perform. Our Heavenly Father, so far from ever overlooking us, is only waiting to find our hearts open, to pour into them the torrents of His grace.  

         Francois Fenelon


If you want your own way, God will let you have it. Hell is the enjoyment of one's own way forever. 

Dorothy Sayers 

The moment we make up our minds that we are going on with this determination to exalt God overall, we step out of the world's parade... We acquire a new viewpoint; a new and different psychology will be formed within us; a new power will begin to surprise us by its upsurgings and its outgoings. 

A.W. Tozer

Book Review:  Abundant Life Day Book:  365  Blessings to Begin Your Day

Nancy Guthrie

From the back cover:  "Over 365 days these readings will take you through the Bible, inviting you to savor the abundant goodness God intends for you to experience and enjoy through Christ.  Each day you'll be reminded of yet another way God has loved you and will still be loving you into eternity."

This devotional is my new favorite.  It is written as if it is God who is speaking, so it is very intimate and personal, using a scripture as its focus each day, and ending with a prayer.  Nancy Guthrie writes with great depth and feeling.  An excerpt:

So many people have made promises to you and let you down.  So many opportunities have held out promise to you and have left you disappointed.  So it makes sense that you might wonder if I will ultimately disappoint you.  But I am wholly other.  Every promise I have made, I will keep.  Every longing channeled toward me, I will satisfy.  Every sorrow entrusted to me, I will redeem.  I will not disappoint you in the end.  I'm not suggesting that you will never feel disappointment in this life, but I want to use your disappointment in the here and now to cause you to sink in the anchor of your life deeper into the hope of heaven.   

I have found great encouragement in these pages.  I highly recommend it!