Often I see birds rest on telephone wires. I’ve always wondered why they choose the wire to rest on. Sometimes there are just a few, and often there are many, however I have never seen one alone. The next time you see birds on a telephone wire, observe carefully. In order that they leave, only one will fly away first. Soon after, the rest of the birds follow.
This image speaks a great deal of missionaries, trailblazers, counter-cultural Catholics, leaders, or anyone in between. We are anointed, we have been chosen. This call means that the Lord has planned for us to do great things. One of these, is to fly alone. We are called to initiate. In these moments, some may not know what we are doing, and often we ourselves won’t know what’s happening. It’ll be scary, it’ll be lonely, it’ll be hard, but only for a moment. Soon after the Lord will give us what we need to be empowered once again. He gives us our family, our household, our friends, all of those people dear to us that will support us. They will soon follow. The Lord simply wants us to trust Him; Isn’t that always what He wants from us?
I recently went on a silent retreat and we had a few hours for personal reflection. We were in the middle of nowhere and there were trails setup all around the center. Father told us that there was one trail we should not go on as it didn’t lead back to the center (apparently it went all the way to Niagara). It sounded like an adventure, so I went on that trail anyway. I travelled for an hour and a half looking for the Lord to speak to me in some way. Fearing that I would not make it back to the center in time, I said to the Lord, “Just give me something Lord, anything.” As I climbed this last hill, I arrived to see the clear skies and acres of green pastures. As I was admiring the sky, a single bird emerged from the forest.
Immediately I thought of the analogy I always use (the one mentioned above), expecting a flock of birds to follow afterwards. After a few moments, no birds followed. A few moments turned into a few minutes and before I knew it the single bird had already flown very far.
It was in this moment that I realized, sometimes there will not be others there to comfort you. Sometimes we will need to soar for a long time. We will get tired, the difficulty will grow, and there will be vast skies ahead of us. But we must never mistake this as loneliness, for the Lord is always at our side. He is in the air that raises our wings. He is in the sunlight that warms our backs. What the Lord told me was very simple.
When He calls, we must soar.
Heavenly Father, grant that I may always have full confidence in Your power, Your plan, and Your wisdom.