Tip of My Iceberg

photo courtesy of Andrea Morales on Unsplash

It was before dawn, and I was enjoying some alone time in the silence of our home. John was still asleep, and we had no one staying with us.

I heard a ruckus on our back porch. Because it was still dark, my mind immediately went to the worst possible scenario–someone was trying to break in.

As my heart settled down to a normal rate, I realized it sounded more like a skirmish rather than an intruder. I slowly opened the back door to find a mallard duck trying desperately to fly, but it wasn’t able to lift off the ground. It kept falling to the side.

photo courtesy of Andrea Sonda on Unsplash

Then I saw the problem. A large cat darted around the side of the house and went after the incapacitated duck.

I went after the cat.

It was helpful that nobody else was likely awake at the moment. I was screaming at the cat and chasing it in my sad soccer shorts and stretched out sweatshirt. Not proper attire for racing around the backyard.

At first, the cat just stared at me as if he was questioning my right to be out there yelling at him. He turned and ran away–but not before turning back to level me with his gaze.

The duck made it to the pond and could swim but not fly.

I felt sorry for the duck; it had no means of dealing with an attacking cat if it couldn’t use the wings he had for escape. It couldn’t move fast enough on the ground to keep itself safe.

There are days when I feel I can’t move fast enough to feel safe. The worries of this world, the anxiety that sometimes overwhelms me pushing me to do more, try harder, achieve greater is more than I want to deal with.

Worrying is an exhausting activity. It focuses me on presumed incompetence which wears away at my confidence. Left unaddressed, it can be a quagmire of frustration.

There are tons of self-help books out there that attempt to bolster our self-confidence, to help us feel better about ourselves in our varied life circumstances.

When problems happen around me, I’m still the common denominator. I find myself flopping in desperation like the poor duck in my backyard, crippled by lies that run in a loop through my mind, fearing defeat, which often becomes its own self-fulfilling prophecy.

At some point, we’ll all go through life with a metaphorical broken wing. Having no ability to escape what we fear may happen.

People don’t often want to trust God with their worries. He’s gotten a bad reputation from social media and people who have felt the freedom to condemn Him because He hasn’t done what they wanted Him to.

God is a loving, listening, patient Father. He’s present when we seek Him; if we want to know Him, He promises we will find Him. But more than that, He’s greater than “religion” and the things we choose to put our faith in.

“Burned out on religion? Come to Me. Get away with Me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with Me and work with Me–watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with Me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.” Matthew 11:28-20

We’re all burned out on promises that others won’t keep, guarantees that aren’t provided for, hopes that are dashed by things outside of our control.

God provides a way of dealing with the dailies of life that can feel insurmountable. He’s not promising a cake walk through life but His presence that will teach us how to live as whole, hope-filled people.

We will always have “cats” pursuing us to trip us up, keep us from what we hope to achieve. Those people and experiences that are more hurtful than helpful.

God gives us wings to fly like eagles.

“But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint.” Isaiah 40:31

Floundering doesn’t have to define us when soaring can be our hope.