When Eagles Soar
Note: This article is a
sequel to Before Eagles Fly.
Eaglets take about three and a
half to five years before they become adults. As their mums and dads
work hard in raising new kids, their childhood nests are no longer
theirs.
At this tender age, they are too
young to build their own aeries. They may try to build their nests
but they will be just playhouses – like those that preschoolers
build with construction blocks without proper fastening, bonding and
strengthening. Some plunge steeply as they construct their nests.
Most survive and try again.
The eaglets are not good at
catching fish when they first leave home. They pick up dead fish
along the shores. They progress to picking up dead fish floating in
rivers and lakes. Months later, they graduate to catching fishes
swimming alive near the surface of the waters. Through much practice
and hard work, they perfect their skills until they have zero
misses.
Having a stale diet of only fish
is not able to satisfy the growing appetite of these eaglets. They
recall the sweetness and aroma of those small pieces of meat their
parents have fed them with. They start by sharing dead carcasses
with other predators. They go on to hunt for small animals like
rabbits before moving on to the larger ones.
Each of the eaglets has
additional but separate eyelids to keep both eyes clean and dust
free everywhere they go. Their bones are hollow. Howbeit their
frames are light, they are robust and strong with crossed structured
ribs and firm muscles. The eaglets have about 7000 feathers each.
Their back feathers are as long as the head feathers. Their beaks
are black in colour but turn golden at age 3.
Most eagles don't start breeding
until they are seven years old. They will spend most of their time
traveling on vacations - learning and exploring their world. Without
any specific supervision and direction, they wander off. Along the
way, they learn and formulate their own patterns – where to go, what
to eat and when to migrate. They have good memory of where they have
been. During those adolescent years, many will find their helpmates.
Almost all eagle couples stay together for life. They will build
their permanent aeries at the locations where they spend most of
their winters.
Eagles are created to soar great
heights. They are not to remain flying over the lowlands. Unlike
other birds, eagles do not have to flap their wings while soaring.
Flapping require lots of energy and efforts.
Eagles learn to soar by waiting
for the arrival of thermal currents of air. The hot surrounding
terrain generates these warm air streams. As the eagles sit on the
high ledges, they patiently wait for the right moments to come. When
those heat waves arrive, the eagles take off and soar upward by just
spreading widely their wings.
Their feathers act like
aerofoils of the jetplanes. Created in many different shapes, they
are able to tilt back and forth, up and down. One way to increase
the lift is to have more curved aerofoils. In executing these small
initial motions, the laws of thermodynamics set in. Above the wings
will be low pressures but beneath the wings will be high pressures.
This pressure differential activates an upward thrust causing the
eagle to soar higher and higher. Effortlessly.
After the takeoff, they turn
their feathers to cruising mode, gliding and riding the heavens
freely, graciously and majestically.
But those
who wait on 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. Isaiah
40:31
The hardest lesson for most
Christians is to wait on the Lord – not as a master waiting for the
Servant to serve him but as a servant waiting to serve the Master.
We are action-packed with programs and activities – vigorously and
zealously flapping our wings, performing a lot of drama but
achieving very little results.
Until we come to terms that we
are weak and He is strong, we will always go wrong. The secret is to
abide in Him as He abides in us. This will foster trust and increase
faith. The Holy Spirit is not only the Breath of God; He is also our
beloved Teacher and Instructor!
Born free to ride the heavens
with our God, we must not conform to the world, be captivated by it
and be held in captivity. As the eagles get older, they go through a
renewal process. They will find a secret place high up in the
mountains. There they claw and scratch their faces, and tear out
those feathers that have been damaged over the years. In doing so,
they bleed profusely. This is a necessary process for the eagles to
renew the strength of their youth (Psalm 103:5). No more rotten,
reluctant, obstinate, stubborn and inflexible but renewed, restored,
revitalized, re-energized and transformed!
The Holy Wind of God is here. We
can feel His warmth and His embrace. The Holy Spirit is wooing us to
break through, take off and soar as He lifts us upwards!
There are heights of joy we
cannot know till we soar with Him!