Weekday Devotion With Pastor Chris

     When Bonnie and I were traveling up the Hudson River on our boat, Heartsong, a few years ago, we were surprised by the number of bald eagles that we encountered.  It wasn’t that long ago that the national bird was at risk of extinction in the lower 48 states.  Thankfully, the population has recovered and the species was removed from the list of endangered and threatened species back in 2007.  It was a joy to see these magnificent birds as we made our way from New York City to Albany.

     The adult bald eagle features dark brown feathers with a white head and tail, and a yellow beak.  The typical wingspan runs from 5’11 to 7’7, and the birds can weigh anywhere from 6 ½ to nearly 14 pounds.  Females tend to be about 25% larger than males, but otherwise share the same coloring.
 

     Famously, Benjamin Franklin was not thrilled with the choice of the bald eagle.  “For my own part I wish the Bald Eagle had not been chosen the Representative of our Country,” he wrote in a letter to his daughter.  “He is a Bird of bad moral Character. He does not get his Living honestly. You may have seen him perched on some dead Tree near the River, where, too lazy to fish for himself, he watches the Labour of the Fishing Hawk; and when that diligent Bird has at length taken a Fish, and is bearing it to his Nest for the Support of his Mate and young Ones, the Bald Eagle pursues him and takes it from him.”  Franklin adds, “For the Truth the Turkey is in Comparison a much more respectable Bird, and withal a true original Native of America…”

     Whatever its habits, the bird has a noble appearance both at rest and in flight.  Soaring on thermal convection currents the eagle can reach speeds of 35 to 43 mph.  When it dives, it can hit 75 to 99 mph.  Those eagles that migrate choose routes that take advantage of thermals and updrafts.  They spread their massive wings and the currents come underneath, raising them higher and higher until at last the eagles glide back down; moving forward towards their destination.

     I love the image of the eagle spreading its wings and allowing the currents to carry it high up into the sky.  It is a wonderful picture of the way God’s Spirit moves in our lives; this breath of God coming underneath us to sustain us and support us, and carry us forward.

     This is an uncertain and stressful time.  Lives have been disrupted, jobs lost or placed on furlough, retirement savings put at risk, and all the while the threat of this terrible virus hangs over our every movement and interaction.  Where can we turn for hope, strength and comfort?  There is One who offers all we need in order to persevere:

“The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth.  He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable.  He gives power to the faint, and strengthens the powerless.  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.” (Isa. 40:28-31)