A Sparrows Simple Flight

In our society today power controls just about everything. I’m not talking about the simple power of electricity but rather the power to create, destroy, raise up, and collapse. In our country there is always this ongoing struggle for power in the world of politics. There is always the pursuit of power in the world of sports. There is always that quest to be the powerhouse team, the one that is in control. But there is nothing like the ferocious power of a storm in all of its beauty.

As I write this I am sitting in my truck parked on the roof level of Washington and Lee University’s parking lot in the midst of a torrential storm. As I sit I am unable to see the dorms and fraternity houses that are no more than one hundred yards away. The wind is causing trees to buckle right in front of me to the point of between the claps of thunder you can hear the trees crack under the power of the wind. Rain and hail is pounding on the roof of my truck with such ferocity that it is deafening inside of my truck. The clouds are no more than a hundred feet above me spewing out violent streaks of lighting that cause the whole horizon to light up as if a sheet of rain is its own personal back drop. Water is beginning to deepen itself around the base of the tires of my truck. People are frantically sprinting to their cars in their own futile attempt to dodge the onslaught of raindrops falling. There are these momentary lapses of peace in which the rain slows to a sprinkle and peace begins to resume its role in the area. But as soon as it stops lighting begins its barrage of attacks once again. The town of Lexington that I am in happens to sit right in the shadow of the tallest peaks of the Blue Ridge Mountains. The town itself is perched on a mountaintop almost a mile above sea level. Causing the storms to be short but intense in their attack on this small college town.

As the storm rages on, in the middle of one of the most intense attacks thus far something catches my eye. It was unexpected and unbelievable. A sparrow was perched on the hood of my parked car. As the lightning raged and the winds split the trees this bird took flight and left the perch of my truck. In my mind I begin to race with thoughts of if this bird was smart he would have scurried underneath my truck to gain some sense of safety from the wind and the rain. But that is not what this bird chose to do. He took flight off into the violent, intimidating horizon. As the winds blew this bird from the right to the left and then back again this bird kept flying straight into the distance till I could see it no more. With this site I had just witnessed as I experienced the awesome power of nature I began to think.

We are a lot like that tiny little sparrow. So many times in our lives we are living in the mountaintops where as we look around we see nothing but what is below us. Life is bright and sunny, everything is going exactly right and exactly how we expected it to go. But yet in our peaceful utopian state that we have lulled ourselves into, we are totally ignorant of the coming storm. Though we have been warned about it, and we see the precipitating factors that are giving us the hints that it is coming we choose to ignore the basic facts that we are about to attacked from all sides. One-minute life is perfect and the next minute we are in the midst of a storm that is rocking the vey foundation that we are one. Lightning fast situations are hitting close to home all around us. At our very nature our mind begins to think, our heart begins to race, anxiety and fear have all but crippled us in our state as we just stand around. The wind is so violent that we can barely stand. But yet we feel the need to remove ourselves from this situation and storm that we are in. At the very base of our human nature our flesh cries out for us to seek safety, to hide ourselves from the storm and “just ride it out.” So we can get back to our peaceful utopian state. But relief is not to be seen in the distance. This is where we as believers have a decision to make. We can allow ourselves to be stuck in the drama of the storm or we can rise to the occasion and take flight in the face of imminent destruction.

We need to be like that tiny little sparrow. I can only begin to imagine the fear in that sparrows mind as he contemplated the idea of taking flight in the midst of this storm. He could have sat back and played it safe. But something, some thought of courage or craziness gave that tiny sparrow the boldness to fly. I wonder what would be the outcome in our lives if in the midst of the storm we stood up, faced it head on, and jumped into the wind? What would happen if in the middle of our storms of life we had the courage to just jump into the air, spread our wings placing complete trust in the hands of the one who can create the storms as well as calm them? What would the world be like if we denied the fleshly desire and fleshly motives of complacency and playing it safe? Its hard to imagine trying to walk in the middle of this storm I’m witnessing right now, let alone fly. No one is saying it is easy, or that it is going to be a cakewalk, or even that you will not feel undeniable fear. But as believers in Christ we are not called to a complacent lifestyle at any point in our Christian walks. Though we face hell itself we are not called to just stand around and watch as the storm passes by over us. We are called to be men and women of action. To stand up and realize that we have no control over the inevitable situation we are in but we are in control of the eternal outcome that will result from this. Through our movement, and our courage to jump into the midst of the storm we find ourselves in a place of learning, growth, and strengthening. That bird at first did not have it easy as he was mercilessly blown from side to side. That bird had to learn how to fly in the storm. He gained strength from using muscles that he most likely does not use on a daily basis. He probably did not have an idea on where he was going to fly, but instead of gripping his talons into the concrete and trying to weather the storm under his own strength he took flight. He was not concerned with the chance of pain or even death. He took flight with the thoughts of all that was ingrained into his very being as well as all the strengths that throughout his short life he had learned.

This thought challenged me, it brought me to a place of decision and movement in my own life. I know I have the tendency to be complacent where I am during my “mountain top” experiences. I have that tendency to ignore the warning signs of coming storms and waste my time instead of preparing myself for the coming onslaught. But yet when those storms come through I have resolved to trust my Savior, the one who created life itself as well as everything in it. I have resolved to place my very soul in the mighty hand of God and trust Him that my best interests are at the forefront of his mind. And I will spread my wings and take flight in the midst of the storms.
As I sit here, I begin to see daylight on the horizon. The storm has passed and peace is beginning to regain its hold on this tiny town. And I look at the wall in front of me and my mentor has returned to teach me a final lesson. I see the bird has weathered the storm. He survived its mighty onslaught. I have no idea on where it went or what it experienced but yet I know that it is still alive. As the sun begins to regain its hold of the afternoon I see the storm has moved on behind me. Hope begins to stir in my own soul that no matter what storms I will experience in my own life, it will not last forever. The sun will again show and I will be on that mountain again, but this time with a new attitude and outlook on life as well as my walk with Christ.