He Will Not Let us Fall

Yesterday, I started my day as always doing my Bible study while watching the eagle family on the Florida eagle cam. I was watching before Mama eagle Harriet and baby E9 woke up. I am usually up at 5 a.m. and the eagles usually don't rise until the sun comes up. Daddy eagle M15 greeted the sun on his tree limb near the nest that overlooks a nearby church. The symbolism of that scene thrills me. The eagle, a symbol of freedom. The church, a symbol of God. We are set free through Christ. Freedom with God is  magnificent. Sadly, freedom without God is what is we sometimes opt for with horrific consequences.

I have an appointment today with a desperate young lady I met at the abortion center. Against our urging, she aborted (at least it certainly appears to be the case). She ended up with a perforated uterus, and emergency surgery. She was angry with us for our repeated attempts to urge another course. However, now homeless and without hope, she called me. She didn't know who else to turn to. Funny how the droves of "pro-choice" advocates who claim they are there for the women are not the people she called. She listened to them and the freedom of choice without God...choosing to end her child's life. So why are they not eager now to help?

Cities4Life will help her. I already secured her an interview with a Christian housing group. She meets with the director of C4L and me for lunch today to go over other resources. We have already connected her with our Love-life Charlotte mentorship program.

Freedom without God is often a terrible moral cesspool. That's why I like the symbol of the eagle with the church backdrop.

It was a nice visual to begin my busy day. I had a doctor appointment for my last surgical check up, followed by PT for my frozen shoulder. When I settled down at the doctor's waiting room, we were informed he was running an hour and a half behind.

This was wonderful news! Now I had time to walk on the beautiful greenway nearby, and snag a yummy healthy turkey wrap from Traders Joe. I left my cell phone number with the nurse in case the doctor was miraculously ready for me early and told her I was going to go for a walk. 

"Good for you!" she said.

I passed a couple walking a Carolina Dog, the same breed as my dearly departed Honeybun.

Such joy to see the spitting image of my beloved dog!

"Do you know you have a Carolina Dog?" I asked. (Many people do not.)

"Yes," she said.

"I used to have one. Best dogs on earth."

"She is a good dog," they agreed.

On to Traders Joe where I bought my turkey wrap. As I walked, I ate. It is one of the great pleasures of life to have a gorgeous sunny day, a beautiful path before you, a yummy snack in hand, and the prospect of no pain at a doctor visit.

Just as I finished my wrap and my walk, the doctor called me. They were ready for me. I answered the phone standing right in front of his office building. Perfect timing!

My blood pressure was the lowest since this whole cancer adventure began. All was well at the check up. On to PT. That was not quite as much fun, but I have progressed beyond painful stretching into lightweight weight lifting. Little by little, I am regaining what I'd lost.

When I returned home, I switched the eagle cam back on. EEGADS!!! Little E9 was sleeping inches from the edge of the nest! What was wrong with Harriet? Why didn't she shove him back into the deep nest bowl in the center of the nest?

Then he woke up! Gulp! E9 sat inches from the edge of a 60 foot free-fall, looking happily out over his world. Harriet seemed completely unconcerned. I imagine she knew exactly what she was doing, though I could not understand her cavalier attitude to what looked very risky to me.

She, on the other hand, seemed to understand that freedom was critical to her eaglet. If he was going to survive and thrive, he must comprehend his boundaries and the world that he was a part of. That world was sixty feet in the air, and he probably needed to know that. I guess unless he was given increasingly larger glimpses of where his nest was situated, he would not know his limits.

As Harriet fed him, she was very crafty. She fed him so that he moved away from the edge of the nest to snatch his food. And then she settled down in the middle of the nest. He moved towards her, not because she was making him return to her in that place of safety but because he wanted to.

Ah. This is what God does. Little by little He shows us what we need to do to grow and develop to be what He intends us to be. Some of it is quite terrifying, and He can't show it to us all at once or we would not fall out of the nest but JUMP out. He doesn't force us back to Him, or to a place of comfort and safety. He lets us test and discover our limits for ourselves. Some of it is exhilarating, and He lets us peek at those snatches of heaven so we will understand what it is we will inherit one day. Then He abides nearby, within our reach, and we move towards Him because He is our heart's desire.

CS Lewis said: Remember, though we struggle against things because we are afraid of them, it is often the other way round—we get afraid be- cause we struggle. Are you struggling, resisting? Don’t you think Our Lord says to you ‘Peace, child, peace. Relax. Let go. Underneath are the everlasting arms. Let go, I will catch you. Do you trust me so little?’

I thought of the eaglet so close to the edge of his nest and the apparent lack of worry in the mother. That juxtaposed with my thoughts of the young lady I will meet with today. In her worries about what the future would hold, she took action that led to disastrous results, defying God and His beautiful design for motherhood. How desperately we tried to tell her to follow and trust God. Do not resist Him. He will catch you! I hope she will listen to us now.

I watched the eaglet sleeping on the edge of the nest under the watchful eye of his mother. Slowly my worry subsided.  She is letting him enjoy the beautiful day, and the magnificent view, but she will not let him fall.
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Isaiah 41:13

For I am the LORD your God, who upholds your right hand, Who says to you, 'Do not fear, I will help you.'

Psalm 121:3

He will not allow your foot to slip; He who keeps you will not slumber.