Time to Fly
Wings of Hope
I love to fly! Sadly, I require a plane and a pilot to fly. But hope gives wings for rising above the burden of problems. If something is weighing you down, I invite you to find your wings of hope, because it might be time to fly.
Note about the image: Monarch butterflies enjoying a milkweed in bloom.
My Mysterious Mind
As I write this, it’s Saturday. I have a newsletter ready and scheduled for release for tomorrow, but early Tuesday morning I hope to be on a plane heading to Chicago and then on to Baltimore, where I will be for eight days. I hope to finish next Sunday’s newsletter before I leave. I also hope to have everything ready for my trip before it’s time to fly.
It’s mid-February. In three months my last semester at my current university will end and it will be time to fly away. My office is mostly packed. My heart and mind are almost ready. I have a Post-It note on my office door, placed there several months ago. It says simply:” The Cocoon.” Inside that office, like a caterpillar inside of its cocoon, I have been preparing to leave, hoping to fly away.
One colleague noticed and commented about the note on my office door. I smiled mysteriously and gave no hint at its real meaning. I knew I had been in negotiations with another university with whom there was mutual hope of a future position for me there, but my preparations were happening in secret. A few days ago I told him I was leaving. He quickly connected that departure to the note. “The Cocoon!” he exclaimed, as he realized the note’s significance. “Yes,” I said, “this has been in the works for several months.”
Like a butterfly busting out of its cocoon, I cling to the edge of my cocoon for a bit, preparing my wings. It’s not quite time to fly away, but that time is fast approaching. These next three months are the final stage. No longer hiding in my cocoon, the news is out: I’m leaving.
I’ve been hoping for this for a long time. I said I would go where I’m wanted. My current colleagues want and value me, but I have no program home there anymore. The cocoon can no longer sustain me. For a long time, I’ve been struggling, trying to thrive as I once did, only able to survive. Like a cocoon, my most recent season has been temporary and it’s deteriorating.
Still, this time is a bit surreal. Having imagined it for so long, reading and re-reading the guide to employment separation, the steps are now solidly appearing before me. I notified my department head. I turned in the official document informing the university of my departure. Soon, I’ll meet with HR to review separation from benefits. All of this while I continue to teach my classes, counting up the weeks behind and counting down the weeks remaining.
My colleagues are very happy for me, while sad to see me go. They’re excited for the place I’m going, where my expertise can be better used. “Good for you!” they proclaim, as I unfurl my frail wings in preparation for flight.
Secretly, inside my cocoon, I’ve been transforming. As I hoped for change, my wings were taking shape. Progress was slow for the new position at a different university to become real and an official contract to be provided and signed. My cocoon felt more and more restrictive as I waited for flight. What a relief and joy it is to finally announce, “I’m leaving,” with the cocoon split open behind me.
The long season of sorrow and frustration is ending. I feel the last bits of winter fall away, as the brightness of summer sunlight hits my being. It has felt like winter, but summer is coming. And summer is the season for flying. Just like the butterflies, I, too, will fly.
Message of Mystery Acres
There are many creatures who fly at Mystery Acres, but no planes. Our home lies in the flight path of planes going to and from Atlanta and Florida. But, in our forest, the only planes we see are tiny images flying at altitudes far above us. The sound of these jets sometimes reaches us in the woods, as our eyes strain upward to catch sight of the source as it crosses the arc of the sky.
We have a neighbor in the woods who flies for a major airline, but he drives over 70 miles to get to the airport. His driveway is marked by two propellers, one end driven into the ground. Ironic, because the only things flying in the woods are organic, not man-made. When it’s time for him to fly, he leaves the forest for the concrete and asphalt airport far away.
Tethered to the ground by gravity and lacking wings, I watch creatures of the air and envy their lofty soaring. The falcons and hawks glide above the forest; I catch sight of them between the tops of the trees. Other birds fly brief paths between the trees. In season, there are butterflies; these complex but delicate beauties float weightlessly through the clearing. One of my favorite memories is the sight of dozens of Monarch butterflies perched on a single milkweed bloom. Their wings became a dance of “petals” that you had to see to appreciate. My grandsons’ favorite flying creatures are the grasshoppers who jump/fly when startled. There is laughter echoing through the woods from the pursuit by little boys of grasshoppers in the clearing.
In the forest I can fly, but only vicariously. My spirit soars high with the gliding raptors. My soul glides peacefully with the butterflies. My heart leaps with each grasshopper pursued by laughing boys. There’s something in me that longs to fly, needs to fly. As a child and young adult I regularly had dreams that I could fly. I’d soar above trees and houses, feeling weightless and free. I’d be disappointed upon awakening, as the reality of gravity and no wings grabbed my soul.
In this flightless body I can only fly in my spirit. But I have found that hope is the force that lifts me up. When I relax and trust the forces I cannot see to provide what I need, my being becomes weightless. The message of Mystery Acres is a voice calling me to release my burdens and fly. My body may still be chained by gravity, but my spirit can be flying high and free.
Ancient Mystery’s Voice
“Those who hope will fly.” (excerpt of Isaiah 40:31)
Perhaps one of the most beloved verses of ancient scripture is that of Isaiah’s book, the 40th chapter, in the final, thirty-first verse. Here is the entire verse:
“Even youths become faint and fatigued; and young people will definitely stumble; but the ones who wait for God will renew their power; they will go up with wings as eagles; they will run and not be weary; they will walk and not be faint!”
The Hebrew word used in this verse for “wait” is sometimes translated as “hope.” In fact, the original word has no English correlate that can capture the depth and richness. The phrase “wait in hopeful confidence” is probably a closer translation than a single word of either “wait” or “hope.” When we use the word “wait,” it is often with a sense of frustration or impatience attached to it. When we use the word “hope,” it might mean something weak, such as a hope for our favorite team to win. Adding the word “confidence” to the mix, brings a solid certainty to the hope and a peaceful, trusting to the waiting. In fact, sometimes the Hebrew word translated as “wait” or “hope” is also translated as “trust.” Our use of the word “trust,” however, doesn’t include a sense of hope or waiting.
Putting these aspects of “waiting with hopeful confidence, trusting God to come through for us,” is what, in English, we need to insert into this verse to bring its fuller meaning to mind. Thus, “those who wait with hopeful confidence, trusting God to come through for them, will fly.” In the broader context of the verse, which speaks of being worn out to the point of being faint and prone to stumbling, we can see a richer meaning. A broad paraphrase might be:
“Life can be so hard that even young people become so faint and fatigued that they are prone to stumbling; but people who wait with hopeful confidence, trusting God to come through for them, will become strong again; in fact, they will rise above their problems as though they are flying on the wings of eagles.”
The voice of Ancient Mystery thus calls to us to look for renewed strength, such that the weight of our problems drops away, and to find this strength by waiting with strong hope that the Lord of All Mystery will provide, lifting us up as though we are flying.
Living in Mystery
Is life weighing you down? Perhaps it’s time to fly. No wings? No problem. Hope provides the wings for flight.
But where can hope be found? In difficult or exhausting circumstances, hope can come from preparing for a brighter tomorrow. Look at the birds! Fly vicariously with them, imagining a view above your problems. All problems are temporary. Just as every winter ends, giving way to spring and then summer, so, too, our dark days are limited. Hope can be found in remembering that seasons of suffering do end.
Wings of hope can also be developed through practicing trust and patience in divine provision or deliverance. This is tough; I’m still working on my wings of hope. Sometimes hope comes easily for me; at other times I have to practice it. The same may be true for you.
As an old mom to young parents, I wonder if your children have wings of hope. Little children are often more hopeful than older children and adults. Not yet perplexed by disappointment, small children may “fly” freely through their days, trusting their parents to provide for them. Somewhere over the years, these innocent wings of hope are damaged. Or, maybe we forget to use them. Once spontaneous and natural, hope, for older children and adults, might require an act of choice. Distracted by failure or discouraged by adversity, unfurling one’s wings of hope may be a bit painful.
No matter if the sky is blue and clear, or if it’s gray and cloudy, today, and every day, is a good day for flying. Find your wings of hope and take to the skies with me! Now is a great time to fly!
Connecting with Mystery
Dear Lord of All Mystery, sometimes I feel weighed down, with a heavy spirit and hopeless heart. Turn my eyes to consider the birds, who fly free above us all. Steady my mind with thoughts of hope, strengthen my heart with confidence and trust, and lift my spirit with Your wings. Help me to trust the answers I cannot yet see. Help me to fly with wings of hope. Amen.
Notes from Dr. Mac
If you want to do your own investigation of any of the scriptures I use, I suggest you go to Bible Gateway. This free online version of the Bible allows a search of words or phrases in various translations. You can read the broader context of Isaiah, but you might want to start no earlier than the 40th chapter if you are looking for hopeful content. If you’re not familiar with the Bible, I suggest you start with Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John, as Isaiah is pretty heavy.
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