An Eagle in Disguise

Record high temperatures, sizzling air that spontaneously may burst into flame at any moment. Code orange air quality which means it is highly advised that NO ONE breathe today!!!! So it seemed the perfect death defying act to go kayak, one of the most strenuous physical activities known to man. And better yet, invite my only daughter and her friend to defy the mighty greenhouse gases.

So off we oozed across the melting roadways to the Catawba River. Surprisingly, not another soul was on the river. Everyone else in all of Charlotte was in deep freezer rooms on respirators. We alone were braving the elements.  Well not quite alone. One family did pass us as we were seeking relief by swimming in the river.

"Can I swim!?" begged the little boy of his kayaking parents, seeing us cavorting like seals.
"No," said the mother, "River water is dirty and dangerous."
The three of us paused in our dunking, river water dripping down our faces. The boy gazed at us for a long time, his eyebrows slowly dripping off the edge of his face, as his kayak floated by.

Later, Asherel's friend Emma asked me, "Is it really dirty and dangerous?"
"Of course not," I said, "Germs and bacteria are necessary to toughen your immune system."

While we were hiding from the brutal sun, submerged up to our eyeballs, I spotted a large brownish bird floating on thermals in the distance. It had a white head.
"A bald eagle!" I cried, pointing. Then, there were two of them,  wings outstretched gliding across the molten air above the river.
"That's not a bald eagle," said Emma.
"It's a sea gull," said Asherel.
"Of course it is an eagle!" I countered, "What other large bird has a white head?"
"I don't know," Emma said, "But it's too small to be a bald eagle."
"Maybe it's a young one....besides I don't think it is too small."
"Young ones are all brown," she said.
For a shy kid, she sure has a lot of confidence on this, I thought.
 Emma works at the Raptor center and was not convinced.
"How much interaction do you have with the bald eagles at the Raptor Center?" I asked.
"Not much," she admitted, "They are mean."
I smiled, "Well so there you have it. You aren't around them enough to know this is clearly a bald eagle."
"It's too small," she said sweetly.

As we returned to shore, a man came running towards us, two large cameras clanging about his neck.
"I presume you are running towards us for a reason?" I said, approaching the shore.
"I am a reporter with the Charlotte Observer," he said, breathing a little heavily from the exertion in the blinding heat, "I need a picture of someone coping with the record heat wave."
Ah, so that is what we were doing! Coping!
Asherel and Emma began to glide away. I have never met anyone more camera shy.
"Sure!" I said.
I splashed some water over my head to show the proper coping attitude, he snapped some photos and then asked me how long we'd been kayaking.
"Two hours," I said, "We had the river all to ourselves. It was so peaceful and quiet. We saw a bald eagle."
"It wasn't a bald eagle," Emma murmured from a distance.
"There is a nesting pair up the river," said the reporter, "There are others that live on the Catawba now."
I suppressed a smirk in Emma's direction.

I liked the revelation that while I thought I was having the time of my life, floating in nature amongst bald eagles and herons, I was really coping. Unbeknownst to me, I had taken a lemon, and made lemonade.

I wish I could make my poor sister Amy's coping a little more pleasant....send a bald eagle to her hospital room. Her CT scan revealed she will need to wait at least til Friday before they can consider operating. Until that time, going on week number two, the only thing she can take in by mouth will be ice chips and a little water. I know that coping for her is a minute by minute ordeal right now. I am waiting to see if she thinks having me there would make the time better or worse for her. With me, one never knows.....

I suspect she feels a little like Job at this point, and it is not easy to keep smiling. All I can offer are my prayers and hope she can believe that sometimes seagulls are eagles in disguise.

James 5:11
As you know, we count as blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job’s perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy.