Flying On Wings as Seagulls

A number of years ago, I came across the quote: “expect the unexpected and you won’t be disappointed!” And so far this year has pretty much lived up to that expectation!!

At the beginning if the year, I had a sense that, amongst other things, God was wanting me to focus on joy and gratitude – mainly building these more into my every day living.

I was also planning and expecting to do lots more writing!!

What I didn’t have any expectation of then, was that the year was quickly going to become somewhat challenging, with a flare up of a hip bursar problem and a significant flare up of back and nerve pain.

All of this came really out of nowhere as my back has been pretty stable for a number of years and I wasn’t really doing anything out of the ordinary.

But I soon found myself going from walking up to 6km each day to struggling to make 600m! And I have to be honest, I hit a big brick wall emotionally and spiritually! Which was also very unexpected!

Its not that I doubted God – I just struggled to see where He was in the midst of the pain, and, honestly, how did joy and gratitude fit into my day! And yes – there was a good degree of wallowing in a muddy puddle of self pity!!

One good thing was that I was still able to get down to our beach and walk a little, and it was there I started to notice the seagulls! Or to be accurate, to notice that, on the really windy and stormy days, the seagulls could be found flying up above the waves and sand and soaring on the currents of the wind.

And as I watched, I started to sense the stirring of God’s gentle invitation being whispered into my heart: “come, fly with me”

“Come fly with me on the wind of my Spirit, in the midst of the storm. Come fly with me.”

And with this invitation I was reminded of the words in Isaiah 40 vs 30 – 31:

“Even youths will faint and be weary, and the young will fall exhausted; but those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles,
they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.”

Those who wait for the Lord will renew their strength and fly on wings like seagulls!

My response to this invitation was with a question – or 3! “How do I learn to fly with you God? What does that mean in my everyday reality of pain management? What does it mean to fly with you?”

And perhaps a more important question – “what is stopping me from flying?”

In the midst of all of this, I had an opportunity to help facilitate a weekend silent retreat. Usually at these weekends I enjoy walking in the afternoons – either enjoying the nearby river or the tracks to the beach. But this time with my back limiting my walking, I was only able to short walks around the grounds of where we were staying.

Which also meant I had more time of resting and simply enjoying the quiet space.

I had taken a book of poems with me, with some beautiful poems around the theme of Flourishing. *

And as I lay on my bed and looked through these poems, one of them jumped out at me with these words:

Lord, remind me that today is a gift. I have woken up with with breath in these lungs and life in these veins. So whatever troubles I may face today, I choose to cling to your word, cleaving with all my being.

Don’t let me waste my todays wishing for better tomorrows. In the middle of my situation, I will rise and praise you.

“In the middle of my situation, I will rise up and praise you.”

Somehow these words unlocked something in my heart and spoke into my questions of how do I fly. It also shone light on a big truth – that learning to be thankful and to praise in the midst of the storm opens up a deeper sense of joy and peace as I catch the currents of the wind of His Spirit and rise up in praise to fly with Him.

Perhaps not rocket science! And definitely I’m still learning how to fly!!

In fact, I will probably spend the rest of my life learning how to fly in the midst of the storms, and needing constant, gentle reminders to be thankful and to praise regardless of what is happening!

And I am so thankful for a patient, faithful God, full of grace and love, who will always come and pick me up when I, once again, crash land onto the beach!

But I also know it’s a choice I can make each day – I can stay sitting on the sand, wishing for the storm to pass by and wondering “why” – Or I can choose not to waste my today wishing for a better tomorrow, but to take a hold of God’s hand and, even when everything hurts and life is stormy, to rise up to fly on the wings of praise and to trust the One who is flying with me right in the midst of it all.

Choosing to fly on wings as seagulls.

Why not make a cuppa and take some time to listen to where is God inviting you to fly with Him in the midst of your storms? Where is He gently whispering His invitation to “Come, fly with me?”

And then, in whatever way you need to, respond to his inviation and listen to how He wants to teach you to wait on Him and fly with Him on seagulls wings.

*Flourishing – A collection of poems. Sina Steele, 2021. Published by ‘Her Mustard Faith’. Gordonton, NZ. http://www.hermustardfaith.com