Are You Ready to Fly?

So, for the past week, I have enjoyed watching the baby birds in the nest on my back deck light fixture grow. When I first noticed that the eggs had hatched, I could barely see their little beaks peak out from the nest. It wasn’t long until you could see those fuzzy heads pop up. But, today, they were getting antsy. They were moving around, flapping their wings. A couple of times, I thought one of them might just take off, but I guess they’re just not quite ready. When the time is right, they’ll know. Just because I’d love for it to happen while I’m home and can see them soar – doesn’t mean that it’s going to happen that way. It’s not up to me. They’re just not strong enough. They’re not ready yet.

Patience, they say is a virtue. It can be defined as “bearing pains or trials calmly or without complaint; not hasty or impetuous; sufferance, tolerance; long-suffering.” (merriam-webster.com) Now, I don’t know about you, but so far, 2020 has been a test of patience. We have had to put so many things on hold in the past few months. Life, as we once knew it, will never be the same, but – so? Who knows what ideas and inventions have been sparked by this pandemic? Things can come back better than ever. Right? Now – the really hard part – being patient. We want everything to be open now. I need a haircut! I’d love to eat a meal that #1 – I didn’t cook and #2 – Doesn’t come out of a bag. But, are we ready to go about like we did before we ever heard of the coronavirus? Is this a time when patience is needed? Do we need to “get a little stronger” before we can soar?

When Peter lists the Christian graces in II Peter 1:5-7, he says, “And besides all this, add to your faith, virtue, and to virtue, knowledge, and to knowledge, temperance, and to temperance, patience. . .” Did you get the “flow” of that? To knowledge, we are to add temperance – self-control. We know what is best. We control ourselves, and then, we add patience – longsuffering, which means that we might have to suffer longer than we’d prefer. But, these things don’t work in conflict against each other – they work in concert with each other. Knowledge, self-control, and patience all compliment each other and lead to godliness, brotherly kindness, and love.

May we not “jump out of the nest” without thinking things through. Are you ready to fly? Simply blessed, Courtney