Devotion: Are You Ready to Fly?

 

“It may be hard for an egg to turn into a bird: it would be a jolly sight harder for a bird to learn to fly while remaining an egg. We are like eggs at present. And you cannot go on indefinitely being just an ordinary, decent egg. We must be hatched or go bad.” ~C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

My son, Trevor, loved being a kid. He relished moments in a way unusual for his age and thought every day was the best day of his life. He missed his childhood before it was even gone. I remember him pausing in the middle of playing, the sun shining down on his little boy head, to tell me he wished he could stay a boy forever.

He was never in a hurry to grow up until the day he met an amazing girl. Suddenly, entrance into the next stage of maturity looked more like gaining something wonderful rather than a sad loss. The weight and responsibility adulthood demanded seemed like a small price to pay for the freedom to make her his wife.

What we all really know deep down but are often too tired or afraid to face is that freedom is always tied to increased responsibility. We can’t have the exhilaration of one without the burden of the other. There is no high-level accomplishment without corresponding levels of hard work and grit.

Imagine an egg resting in its nest. The unhatched bird within is perfectly content with his warm and cozy situation. He is content because he doesn’t know anything else. He hasn’t yet seen the sky or felt the warmth of the sun and the breeze supporting his wings. His tiny bird brain can’t even form such a dream; only his instincts can comprehend the beauty of what is next.

The baby bird’s DNA takes over as it pecks his way out of the shell. Just as he hasn’t the ability to dream of flying yet, he also can’t fear falling. He obeys the plan the Creator wrote into his genes and grows into freedom his brain can’t yet fathom.

The difference between me and the bird in the egg is that I try to fight the pull of my spirit, which wants to grow and become something with wings. I can peer over the edge of the nest. I can see what might be required of me, and I let fear plaster my wings to the nest.

I want to be like Trevor instead. My sweet boy stared over the edge of the cozy nest called childhood. He watched the wind and turned his face to the sun. That boy wanted to fly so badly that nothing could deter him from trying.

The beauty of freedom can do the same for me. It can turn the fearful pounding of my heart into the drumbeat of adventure. I can’t be an egg any longer if I want to fly, and oh, do I want to fly!

 Scripture for Reflection

 “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” James 1:2-4

” For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, theykeep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins.” 2 Peter 1:5-8

Reach for More

Your Creator has written growth into your DNA. Are you fighting it or leaning into it today? He has given you all you need to accomplish the things he has set before you and has promised you the wind beneath your wings as you go. Look for something to motivate you to trust and action today. Instead of being fearful, make a list of the beautiful freedoms God has planned to accompany the increased responsibility he is handing you. Rejoice–you get to fly!

 

Lori Florida’s life is all about her people. She’s convinced that being Mrs. to one and Mommy to eight will be her most significant way to serve Jesus. She wants to use her life to cheer on and coach the women coming behind her. Lori blogs at loriflorida.com.

Photograph © Irina Blok, used with permission