Published in the Salvation Army WarCry 26 May, 2018
http://www.warcry.org.au/single-post/2018/05/26/Yes-my-darling-you-will-fly
Ever been so excited you could jump out of your skin?
Many years ago, my three-year-old raced into the house after playing in the garden, beaming from ear to ear and grabbing our arms to pull us her way.
“Mummy! Daddy! Watch what I can do! It’s so amazing!” We were a little puzzled as she backed up against the door in order to get a run-up, then counted herself down, “Three, two, one!” before she took off, running like Usain Bolt.
Using the speed she had built up from her run, she threw herself onto her swing, stomach first and arms stretched out like Superman. The swing caught her momentum and flew her up into the air.
That was the trick: “I’m flying!” she said.
The problem was, while the swing stopped at some point to come down again, our little girl kept going up, up, up, until gravity got the better of her. After a little flight, she stopped in mid-air and fell to the ground with a thud.
We picked our daughter up off the ground, dusting off her scuffed little knees and hands, and mending her wounds. Apparently it had gone much better when she was practising it.
So often in life, we take off into our dreams with unbridled energy, confident that the path we’re on will launch us into untethered success, only to be met with a thud when reality gets the better of us.
What we thought was a clear path is met with obstacles—obstacles that come in the form of many things: be it finance, a lack of open doors, time restraints, or just needing someone who believes in our vision enough to share it. It could even be a lack of courage.
But, as much as the reality of the action ended with a thud, for a moment we were flying.
Each time we try, God is there to cheer us as we fly, brush off our scuffed hands and knees if we fall, and stand us back up. He wants us to try again, and this time maybe do it a little differently—learning as we go. Each failure has something to teach us and as we learn, though the failures may hurt, they can also make us stronger.
God knows the plans he has for us, and with each adversity we’ll be one step closer to the person he is shaping us to be, able to accomplish the purpose he has placed in our hearts. We just have to find his path and stick to it, believing and knowing that our future is before us and our path has not come to an end—it may have just taken a bend. That bend in our path may just lead us to a more beautiful road so, despite the bump, we must fly on.
“In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps” (Proverbs chapter 16, verse 9).
Rebecca Moore 2018 ©
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