I'll Fly Away

Many years ago, I had a pastor that I adored. He loved the old hymns. His favorite hymn was "I'll Fly Away". To this day, I can't hear that hymn without thinking of him.
Lately, I've been re-organizing my life. I like things to be organized and under control. It makes me happy. I like everything to have a place and for it to be in that place. That includes myself and my family. I found a site called Flylady that has helped take my organization to a happier new level. Her idea is that for us to fly, we need to Finally Love Ourselves. And loving ourselves is accepting that we're not perfect. She encourages us to take baby steps to learn to fly.
Lately, this concept of flying seems to abound in my life. My toddler's newest favorite show is Dinosaur Train. One evening I turned it on for him and was surprised to hear little boy giggles coming from our couch. I looked up to discover that a baby t-rex was trying to learn to fly. He (the baby t-rex) kept trying to fly in different ways and fell down each time saying "Ow" in a monotone voice. My little boy thought that was just hysterical! For days afterward, you could say "Ow" and send him into a fresh burst of giggles.
I think alot of us may feel like that t-rex. We keep trying to fly and keep falling down. And those around us just laugh at our attempts thinking that we weren't designed to fly. We have cares and troubles weighting us down 'til all we can say is "Ow".
Today I was reading a book called "Seven Secrets Women Want To Know" by P.B. Wilson. She writes about a toy that she had bought for her daughter. You were supposed to pull a string and the toy would fly up into the air. Well, they pulled the string and the toy twirled, but would never leave its base. They tried again and again, but the toy wouldn't fly. The little girl told her mom that it was okay. She would keep it 'til the summer and use it as a fan instead! Her mom laughed and told her that it was a good idea, "but it wasn't designed to be a fan. It was created to fly." Mrs. Wilson continues "Later that evening, after tucking her into bed and turning out her light, I thought about how many of us are like that toy. Too often we settle for what appears to be productive spinning around in the same place when in fact we were created by God to fly. Isaiah 40:31 says, But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles..." (I recommend you give this book a read.)
My son and I are about to fly to Orlando this coming week. He's never flown on an airplane before. If you ask him if he wants to fly, he flutters his hands and runs around like he saw the baby t-rex do. He hasn't realized that fluttering won't get him off the ground. It's going to be a huge surprise for him to see what it's really like to fly! It will be so worth it for him to fly though. He'll get to experience joys that he would never have gotten to experience if all he did was flutter around the living room. It might be scary at first, but the joy will more than make up for it.
I think it's time that we all stopped running around flapping our arms (and sometimes our mouths) and learn to fly. We have to learn to "hope in the Lord" so we can renew our strength. He's the manufacturer. He knows how to pull our strings. It's only then that we can fly. During your crazy life, take a moment today and sing that song that my old pastor loved so much and do a little flying.