Issue 1, 122 – Soaring – April 5, 2023
Yesterday Kathy and I took a stroll around Willband Creek Park in Abbotsford. It has level walking trails and meanders around a large water detention pond.
The Park is popular with local birders, and according to one site, there have been 139 different species recorded there. Not all the species are resident; many are migratory, and a few have likely been one-offs. Still, it isn’t uncommon to see serious birders out with their binoculars and tripod-mounted cameras with huge telephoto lenses.
We saw numerous varieties of waterfowl, including ducks, geese and grebes. We surprised a pair of cormorants. Swallows were plenty (many swallow nesting boxes help keep the mosquitoes in check). A couple of crows carried on a caw-nversation, croaking away at one another.
There were numerous sparrows and other small birds, but my vision hadn’t yet returned enough to see them well. During the past two visits to Willband, we have been blessed to see bald eagles. They aren’t uncommon in these parts, but I never tire of seeing them.
We watched the eagle lazily soaring over the pond, slowly and seemingly effortlessly climbing the rising air currents.
The swallows kept their wings in constant motion while performing their aerial acrobatics, and the waterfowl flapped steadily but not as franticly as they flew.
I am always amazed when I watch an eagle soaring. The concept of being the wind beneath someone’s wings is easy to understand when you watch an eagle.
The Bible uses eagle imagery in many places, particularly visions, to portray power, strength, and destruction. While the people of the Holy Land may not have had Bald eagles or golden eagles to watch, there are at least eleven species of eagles native to Israel and other large raptors. I am sure that the people of Israel would have watched many eagles soaring in the wilderness and elsewhere.
Over the years, many people have taken comfort in this passage.
Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint. Isaiah 40:18-31
Isaiah has echoed the words of David from the Psalms.
Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me; bless his holy name! Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s. Psalm 103:1-5
Belonging to God doesn’t guarantee a trouble-free life; in fact, it can bring its own troubles. He does promise to carry us through them.
I don’t know what you are facing today or will face in the future. I do know that you can trust the Lord to carry you through on eagle’s wings.
Hold fast and be encouraged.
Be Blessed
Hallelu Yah / Praise God
Kevin
Gleanings From The Word
Experience an extraordinary God in ordinary life.
Soli Deo Gloria (For the glory of God alone)
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Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture is from the English Standard Version (ESV).
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