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 40:29, 31
Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up. – James 4:10
As noted in a recent post, I’ve had the privilege of taking long walks along a cold stream where life in the mountains was transitioning from fall to winter. Numerous salmon were completing their lifecycle by spawning – and dying – in the river and feeder streams. Otters, bears, eagles, among other critters – were consuming large numbers of these fish to store up fat to help survive the cold months ahead. This year the Lord granted us a bit of an extension of autumn weather, and the fall colors were nothing short of spectacular.
The eagles in this part of the world were putting on quite a show for me and my wife and Cosmos the Wonderdog. We got to see them flying in pairs, performing aerial acrobatics with seeming ease. One week when just Cosmos and I were camped near the river, I saw an eagle fly downstream while I sat eating my lunch. The massive bird then banked over the far edge of the water, turned a big circle, then flew toward us for a few moments. Then it turned again and glided back up the river. With the blue sky overhead and the sun gleaning off its white head and black wings, it appeared so graceful that it looked like it was flying in slow-motion.
One of my projects from long ago allowed me to work near a deep canyon, with a wild river cascading through the length of it. That was probably the first time I ever got to observe an eagle sail below me as I stood on a high-ridge vantage point. The bird slipped effortlessly through the air, high above the churning river rushing beneath him. After all these years, I have not forgotten that experience. It was surreal, almost like a flying dream.
Recently watching so many eagles launch themselves from their various perches, I noticed something which helps me understand the above Scripture a bit better. Just before an eagle takes flight, it lowers its head and body as it lifts its wings high into the air, pointing the wingtips up toward the sky. Then the eagle pushes up with its legs and pulls down with a powerful stroke, lifting the big bird off its perch and into the air. In the above photo, I was fortunate to capture this eagle just as it was taking flight from a tree branch at the left of the picture.
It takes a lot of strength for an eagle to lift itself into the air. In the above Scriptures, God says if we humble ourselves, He will lift us up. And give us strength as well.
That is a good thing. If we do our part, He will do His.
If you want to see one my best close-up pictures of an eagle, and/or want to know how an eagle can sit on a tree branch and sleep all night without falling out, please see Bald Eagles II.
And if you want to know just how well an eagle can see, check out a rather unusual picture of an eagle at Bald Eagle I.
And most importantly, if you have never made the decision to trust the One Who created you, along with the eagles and the rest of the world, I encourage you to check out Got God?
Hope you have a great day.