Fly like the eagle: Rehearse how good God has been toward us

The story is told of a farmer who found a young eagle that had fallen from its nest. He took it home and, wanting to keep it around, restrained its wings so it couldn’t fly.

Soon it was wandering the barnyard with the chickens − head down, pecking in the dirt for bugs or bits of grain to eat.

One day a neighbor, concerned for the eagle’s true identity, asked the farmer if he could take it home with him. The farmer agreed, and immediately the neighbor freed its wings and took it to the nearby mountain peaks from which the eagle soon began to fly and then soar.

Moving from dreary dirt to freedom of the sky

In our lives we sometimes find ourselves living more like chickens than eagles. We find ourselves with our heads down, looking for some bits of goodness that will get us through the day. We hang on to hope and happiness by a frayed thread and can’t imagine we would ever be able to soar like an eagle. Is there anything we can do to move from the dreary dirt to the freedom of the sky?

As we enter this season of thanksgiving and celebration, the psalmist David gives us one model of how we might lift our heads and begin to experience more joy in life:

Let all that I am praise the Lord; with my whole heart, I will praise his holy name.

Let all that I am praise the Lord; may I never forget the good things he does for me. He forgives all my sins and heals all my diseases.  He redeems me from death and crowns me with love and tender mercies. He fills my life with good things. My youth is renewed like the eagle’s!  Psalm 103:1-5 (NLT)

Malcolm Gladwell, in his book "Outliers," said it takes 10,000 hours of practice to master a new skill. More recent studies say that is a bit much and the development of skills depends on age, natural abilities and how good we want to be. But everyone agrees that if you want to be good at something, you must practice, you must rehearse, you must do it over and over.

Say yes to Jesus for the promise of life

There will be many opportunities over the next six weeks to rehearse God’s goodness toward us. There will be family gatherings, holiday meals, Christmas parades, churches filled with special music, Advent observances and candlelight services.

What if we were to see each of these events as a chance to rehearse how good God has been to us? While our lives are never perfect, those who say “yes” to Jesus have all their sins forgiven, have a way for their deepest wounds to be healed and have the promise of a life that never ends.

We have a God who loves us more than we can imagine. Remembering that fact, replaying his blessings “with our whole hearts,” can begin to move us from surviving to thriving − to soaring like eagles. May the celebrations in the coming weeks be reminders of how truly blessed we are as we rehearse God’s goodness toward us.

John Shultz is a Professor Emeritus at Ashland Theological Seminary.

This article originally appeared on Ashland Times Gazette: Column: We, as an eagle, can move from dreary dirt to heavenly freedom