With Wings as Eagles
I have always loved the little, sometimes minute, chores of love & service that go with being a homemaker, wife & mother. That they are endless goes with the territory, but I love freshly washed & ironed laundry, especially in summer, when hung out on the line, for with it comes the added benefit of the fresh air & sunshine to lay your head down on at night & dream dreamy summer dreams. Of course not only in summer, but for me the air is cleanest & freshest then.
I love cooking too. I'm the basic cook, chef of the good foundational cooking like fried chicken, meatloaf, healthy soups & stews, casseroles, which call for some culinary creativity & of course the pies, cookies, cakes, the caboose of a complete sumptuous meal! I remember once that I did not fix a dessert for dinner & when one of my daughter's was informed of this calamity, lamented, "No dessert! Then what's the point?" 😧 & I have to agree. I mean there has to be a conclusion to the dinner story, right?
Vacuuming has always been my favorite work because you get immediate results, especially when messes are imminent with kids & pets (& husbands!)
Then there are the dishes. Yes, I even enjoy washing the dishes & cleaning the kitchen & putting it back in order. Only in the last few years have I used a dishwasher, mainly because the kitchen we have now is so small that it's nice to get the dishes cleared away instantly because there's just no room on the cupboards & order brings instant peace to a room & atmosphere. I can function & even sleep better at night. A daughter recently told me that it gives her peace at night when she goes to bed & hears the dishwasher running. I know. It means waking up to a clean kitchen & clean dishes, very satisfying. As our children grow up & leave the home nest, the workload decreases, but at the end of the day, I like to go through the house & tidy up this & that, make sure everything is in it's place, glasses are put in the sink or dishwasher, bits of trash is disposed of, clothes & shoes are put away, kittie counting to make sure all are accounted for, windows closed (or opened. Ah that nice, cool, fresh night air. Breathe deeply!) & looking at the sleeping faces of children or grandchildren, praying for each & closing the day with that benediction.
I have also loved decorating for the seasons. It kind of keeps a celebratory atmosphere in the homeplace, because there is so much to celebrate with the changing of each season or holiday. Celebration is another way of expressing thankfulness too. I know the Lord wants us to have & live lives of joy.
We read all of the "Little House" books when the kids were growing up as I'm sure a lot of you did also. This little venue gives remembrance & connection as well as continuance for our family. They are set on an old-time child's desk I found at an antique store.
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Gardening & flowers are a part of summer that is quintessential. One is a feast for the table, the other a feast for the eyes. God knew we would need beauty, created us that way in fact, even made us yearn for it.
Our first roses of the summer!
No I am not an animal activist in todays vernacular. Nor am I a vegetarian, but when it is in my power to help the helpless, then I will. I despise the gang mentality. I know, I know, it's the way a cat's put together. & other than this innate characteristic, my cats are quite lovable companions. Everyone has some faults. 😇 vs. 👿
I also believe animals go to heaven. Except for poisonous snakes. or flies & mosquitos maybe. & my husband wants to include spiders in that category, although I think the tiny, furry, jumping spiders are kinda cute.
& did I say I hate hunting? But that's a subject for a different time.
Anyway, to my main subject at hand. As much as I have loved my life as a homemaker & all that that entails, I feel a stirring in my heart that the Lord is ruffling up my nest. You don't have to be a baby bird to enjoy the nest. I have been nesting close to fifty years & it's been right, it's been good, it's been the Lord. But I'm starting to feel some agitation, some restlessness, like maybe some cocoon stretching. The name of the 'Willow Tree' girl above is 'Butterfly'. She is poised for flight. I believe we go through different cocoon stages in our lifetimes, where we are hedged in by the Lord. Cocoons of family responsibilities take up a major part of our lives. Or for some, careers, schooling, caring for a loved one who cannot take care of themselves, including elderly parents or a handicapped or disabled family member. Life can take us to many different cocoons.
"They that wait upon the Lord..."
There are cocoons of waiting. Sometimes we don't even know that we are waiting. Sometimes we are contented to wait. Sometimes we feel stifled & impatient in our waiting. But the quiet voice of the Holy Spirit says, "Not yet, not yet. It's not time."
"shall renew their strength."
& then there is the grace of waiting. For the building, renewing of strength. We may want the cocoon for it is comfortable & safe, & want to stay there until we go home to Jesus. But as the butterfly is not created to stay in the cocoon nor is the eagle meant to stay nest-bound, neither are we. We are meant to fly with the gentleness of the butterfly, or the strength & soaring of the eagle.
"They shall mount up with wings as eagles."
I have learned that no matter what my age, my weaknesses, my frailties, my aches or pains, that there is a work for me to do on this earth for the kingdom of God, for the redemption of people & no matter what the work is that the Lord has called me to do, He will provide every single resource I need to complete it.
"They shall run & not be weary, they shall walk & not faint."
This has been the scripture that has kept coming to me, usually when I first get up in the morning, because that's the time I feel physically the worst & I just don't feel I can do one thing. The other morning I was going to do some outside chores & my husband said, "Gee, do you need to put on perfume before you go take care of the dogs?" Are you kidding me? I replied, "that's not perfume, that's 'Ben Gay'." My how times have changed. It used to be 'White Shoulders'. Now those white shoulders (rotator cuffs, yikes!) are bathed in the 'perfume' I wear most of the time, 'Essence of Ben Gay'. But, if I have to wear it, I'm glad my husband thinks it smells like perfume. 😷 This is a true story.
Back to the scripture, which is Isaiah 40:31, the Lord is also stirring up His heart of love & compassion for the lost in an intensity that I haven't experienced before. My husband & I have been involved in visiting those in jail who have no visitors for the past several months. These mostly young men, have had some horrendous childhoods, most have no fathers in their lives, some since birth. Some have experienced horrors that are heartrending. Every time I open my mouth to these total strangers, the Lord speaks His love & life to them. They are mostly hungry & eager because Jesus has already prepared their hearts to hear Him. They have wept because they are experiencing love for the first time in their lives. My heart always breaks for them with the love of Jesus. Instantly. Some have come to Jesus for a Holy Spirit makeover, some are reluctant. But all exhibit true gratefulness that we would come to complete strangers to visit them.
"...I was in prison & you came & visited me."
Jesus pushes me out of my comfy nest, or burst me through that cocoon & is teaching me to fly to new levels for Him, for people, because He loves! He wants His children free. Or to become His children so they can be free to fly also.
Your season may be drawing to a close. But until it is time for you to go home to Jesus, there will always be a next season, a next cocoon, & so on it goes. & how happy it is to fly with & for Jesus. I don't believe eagles are ever sorry they learned how to fly. So, spread your wings, & poise yourself for flight. & here is the security & joy of your flight....
He is the 'wind beneath your wings'!
Rest in that, & let Him take you into this next season. Onward & upward, with wings as eagles! Truly, truly, the best is yet to come.
Raintree Perk of the Day:
"Who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagles?" Psalm 103:5
For Him!
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