On Wing's as Eagles

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and 

God of all comfort." II Cor. 1:3

The Lord says, “I will make you wise and show you where to go. 

I will guide you and watch over you.Psalm 32:8

So many times in my life I have experienced God's gentle guidance as He reveals truth to me that relates to my current circumstance. As I seek to grow in my faith by reading scripture, discussing ideas with friends, listening to sermons or songs, I find that if I am paying attention, morsels of truth stand out in a definite theme. The work of God is often that "still small voice" as described in the story of Elijah in 1 Kings, where it says that the Lord spoke to Elijah in a “gentle whisper.” His guidance is not usually through dramatic revelations or manifestations; it is often right in the midst of our daily routines. Here is a story of how God made His specific truth and comfort very real to me through my experience.

Back in the fall of 2007, my mom was diagnosed with stage 3 ovarian cancer. The doctors explained how serious it was and the aggressive plans for surgery and chemotherapy. My heart was so heavy as I faced this news. This reality was all new to me. In my fear I grieved the loss of my healthy mom, truly thinking that this was the end. I wondered if I could ask God for one more Thanksgiving, one more Christmas, one more birthday? What could I ask for? I did not even know how to pray.

My heart was aching so much that I could hardly function. But I remember making myself move forward with the normal routine. I had two boys at home that I was homeschooling at the time. One day, in the later morning I let the boys go outside and I followed them with my basket of freshly washed clothes to hang on the line. As I began to hang them, I remembered what my sister-in-law taught me about hanging clothes with the direction of the wind to help them dry faster. I realized the wind was blowing in the opposite direction so I crossed under the line. As I faced the new direction and looked up, directly in my line of vision was a bald eagle perched at the tip-top of the tallest tree in our yard. Just at that moment it took off in flight. It pumped its powerful wings down and up only twice with amazing strength. Then it spread its wings out to their full expanse and soared in a wide circle. I called to the boys to look, look at this awesome sight! It continued to soar in a circle winding up and up and up, never pumping its wings again. We kept watching in amazement as we could see it, soaring higher and higher in the perfectly clear sky that day. It was still spiraling way up in the sky and we could still see it - even when its wingspan was smaller than my pinky fingernail. Then it stopped spiraling and flew north. "Wow, that was amazing!" I gasped. I couldn't believe the beauty of what I had just witnessed.

I told my husband about it and he said that it was riding on a thermal lift which I now understand is a column of rising air that is formed on the ground through the warming of the surface by sunlight. In my research on the site dnr.wi.gov, I have learned that different temperatures on the earth's surface cause the air above these surfaces to also have different temperatures. When the warm air is next to the cooler air, forces are set up that make the warmer air rise. This rising part of the air is called a thermal. A bald eagle's wings are specially adapted to take advantage of these rising thermals of air.

After seeing this, I decided to look up all the Bible verses that mention eagles. I found the more common verse, Isaiah 40:31 "but they 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" -- always beautiful and inspiring.

I also remembered the song "On Eagle's Wings" from Psalm 91 that says, "You who dwell in the shelter of the Lord, who abide in His shadow for life, say to the Lord: 'My refuge, my Rock in whom I trust!'And He will raise you up on eagle's wings, bear you on the breath of dawn, make you to shine like the sun, and hold you in the palm of His hand."

Then I found Exodus 19:4 which I had never thought about before. God called to Moses from the mountain and told him what to speak to the people of Israel."Tell the People of Israel: ‘You have seen what I did to Egypt and how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to Me'". Egypt was a land of slavery and suffering for the people of Israel. God brought them out and led them to the Promised Land. Pastor Nate Meiers of Berean Church explains the Biblical analogy, "Entering the Promised Land after all those years of wandering, crossing the Jordan River into that place promised by God ... is like crossing through death into heaven. This life is temporary. The difficulties and pains we encounter as we seek to follow God are a momentary and light affliction compared to the eternal weight of the glory that awaits us in that spectacular place where our faith shall become sight (II Cor. 4:17). One day we shall cross the Jordan. Faith and hope will be no more and all will be love" (http://www.bereanfamily.com). God made a way for His people to escape this land of suffering by carrying them "on eagles' wings" as He brought them to Himself.

What an analogy! What would it really be like to soar above everything including difficult roads or mountains? To ride on eagle's wings would be quite a ride! Through looking at these verses I gained a better understanding of God's love and strength that carries us in this broken world filled with hardships.

I felt His direct comfort in the picture that He gave me as I witnessed that eagle rise higher and higher. My fears of cancer, death, or losing my mom subsided as I became fully aware of God's strong ability to carry us through this trial. And not only this, but God would carry my mom to the end of her life and to Himself as if on eagle's wings. I didn't need to worry about her suffering. I didn't need to be anxious about her death. God would carry her in His strength and on His wings, and when the time came according to the number of her days which God knew, she would just stop circling and fly north to be forever with Him.

Mom did have a rough time of it for a while. The chemotherapy nearly took her life. At one point she was taken to the emergency room and went unresponsive. They placed her in the Intensive Care Unit and she remained there for 17 days in 2008. Our family gathered to be with her as often as we could, including Easter Sunday that year. My sister, Dawn, stayed with her the most. At that time Dawn and her husband, Lee, were waiting for their pending adoptions to come through for one girl from China and a brother and sister from Haiti. Dawn, along with all of us, prayed that Mom would be able to know these children and that they would know her as their Grandma. Miraculously, Mom did recover. I believe God touched her with His healing hand and granted our requests! Mom had more than 8 years of relatively good health following her physical therapy and return home. My sister's family was finally brought together by the winter of 2010. Mom did spend a lot of time with those grandchildren and they grew to love her very much.

In November 2016, doctors discovered Mom's cancer had returned. Her cancer was inoperable and they began to talk about comfort care for her final days. My siblings were able to all be together with her in her responsive days. It was a sacred time. On December 9th at 11:30 p.m., she crossed the Jordan River into the Promised Land. That night I could not sleep. I had the hymn, "Until Then" echoing in my mind. But I only knew the chorus. I decided to look up the verses. I was amazed at the words! Below are a couple verses and the chorus. I find great comfort in these words which speak of the hope of heaven. I believe God brought this hymn to my mind in such a timely way. I never realized that a falcon was mentioned in a hymn! The message of this hymn brought the theme of God's specific comfort around in a full circle from the beginning of my mom's diagnosis to her final breath. I know that God was carrying her with His strength as if on eagle's wings.


by Ava Wilson

Until Then

Verse 1

My heart can sing when I pause to remember
A heartache here is but a stepping stone
Along a trail that's winding always upward,
This troubled world is not my final home.

Chorus

But until then my heart will go on singing,
Until then with joy I'll carry on,
Until the day my eyes behold my Savior,
Until the day God calls me home.

This weary world with all its toil and struggle
May take its toll of misery and strife;
The soul of man is like a waiting falcon;
When it's released, it's destined for the skies.
~Stuart Hamblen 

On the day of my mom's memorial service, my grandniece, Ava Wilson, handed me a very thoughtful gift - her drawing of an eagle inspired by this story. Perfect.