I was taking a walk one day, and as I was walking, I was obsessing and worrying about the outcome of our family. During this time Will was very sick and in and out of the hospital, and the ground we were walking on was not just trembling....it was quaking. I remember asking God if He could just tell me what was going to happen, maybe I could start preparing myself. I was so afraid. And then, as I turned a corner, a flock of yellow finches took flight in front of me. As I watched them flutter up into the sky I heard them speak to me very clearly. They said....
"If you want to be free....
you have to let go of the ground."
The message was so clear and pierced my heart so completely, I almost stumbled to my knees. It was so true and perfect. I had to let go. I had to let go of it all. As I struggled with the thought of letting go and the fear that stirred up inside me, I began to be envious of the courage of these tiny birds.
Sample folk art bird I drew for teaching children's art class.
The birds made it look so simple. I began to wonder does the bird choose where it will fly or does it just fly? But I already knew the answer. It goes where it is led and where it is carried. A mighty example set by such a tiny creature.
Claire's bird. (art class years ago)
Somehow I knew if the bird worried about where it would fly and what would happen when it got there, it would never fly. The bird seems so confident in its truth.....trusting in the journey. The bird was born with its wings and its song. It didn't have to achieve anything or do anything to gain it.... it was already there.
Gabe's bird, age 6.
It's so hard to believe that I, too, was born with wings and a song, and that I was born to be free, but I know it is the truth. When I remember the message from the sky I received that day, I realize that I really have to do so little. If I respond to the call, let go of the outcome and just be in the moment, honest and truthful, I feel the wind, like a soft summer breeze lift me up. And if only for a moment, I don't worry about the trembling and quaking ground I am standing on as it disappears below me.