Soaring

February 28, 2011

“There is far more to your life than the food you put in your stomach, more to your outer appearance than the clothes you hang on your body.  Look at the birds, free and unfettered, not tied down to a job description, careless in the care of God.  And you count far more to him than birds.” - Matthew 6:25-26 The Message

“The Lord is my shepherd, I have everything I need.” - Psalm 23:1

You know what the only native animals are in New Zealand?  You know which animal is more populous than humans in New Zealand?

Answer One: Birds

Answer Two: Sheep

I feel like God has brought me to a country that is a real-life example of the scriptures!  On this Sunday at Mass the main reading was from Matthew chapter six, which I had just happened to be reading and meditating on during the two days beforehand.  

Isn’t it amazing that God says we are like sheep, but he calls us to be like the birds?  Since living in Fox Glacier I’ve learned a lot more about sheep and birds than I ever would have learned at home.  

First of all, sheep have to be the biggest scaredy cats in the world!  After church on Sunday I rode my bike home.  There were about seven or eight sheep that had somehow wandered out of their paddock and into the grass right along the road.  As I rode my bike past them they freaked out!!!!  A couple of them just kept running ahead of me -- running for their lives!  I eventually took pity on them and crossed to the other side of the street.  Only then did they stop running away from me!  But it was still quite a while until they stopped bleating.  It was “baah, baah, baah” for a long time after I was up the road from them.  These poor sheep were afraid of little old me on a bike.  I wouldn’t ever want to get near enough to even try to hurt them!  (If they knew me they would know I’m as scared of them as they are of me.) Yet, they were afraid out of their minds! 

Birds on the other hand are rarely afraid of me.  I’ve seen many a bird hop right into the restaurants here in town.  They hop right into the human world and when they get bored they hop right back out.  The birds in New Zealand are amazing.  They sing the most unique songs I’ve ever heard.  I’ve seen so many soar straight up above the tree line and then free-fall right back to the forest.  They flutter here and they flap there.  

When I went on my walk through the rainforest this evening I saw a beautiful little bird.  He had a black head and a fluffy, feathery white chest.  It looked like he was wearing an Oscar-worthy dress!  He looked to and fro while he perched on the branch.  He wasn’t worried about a thing!

In exactly two weeks I will be leaving Fox Glacier.  I hardly have a plan about what I’m doing next.  I just don’t know for sure about anything!  But I know as my departure draws near that I want to have the attitude of the birds and not the attitude of the sheep.  I don’t want to run away and cry just because I don’t have the protection of my paddock.  I want to soar above the trees!  I want to dive and free-fall right back to the forest!  For the rest of my life I want to be careless in the care of God.  I can’t think of anything more exciting and anything more fun.  I don’t want to be afraid anymore.  I won’t be.  

Here I go. I’m soaring!  I’m singing!