Confessions of a Christian Flapper

Yet those who wait for the LORD Will gain new strength; 
They will mount up with wings like eagles,
They will run and not get tired, 
They will walk and not become weary.
Isaiah 40:31

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    I have learned that there are eagles and there are hummingbirds.  Eagles soar; hummingbirds flap.  For the record, I am a hummingbird.  This comes as no surprise to those who know me best.  

    This evening I attended a prayer and worship service with one of my dearest friends.  Unbeknownst to her, the group that prays each week before the regular crowd arrives had prayed that the Spirit of the Lord would help us to soar.  A few of the songs we sang and the prayers uttered were about the winds.  During this sweet time of worship and prayer, my friend was given a revelation that she shared with the group.   In so many words, she said that though God created gravity, He also created a higher law or a higher phenomenon called lift and thrust.  Lift and thrust defies gravity.  Spiritually speaking, this lift and thrust allows us to rise above that which encumbers us (indeed the trappings of our flesh and the worries of this life) and pushes us to a level where we are wholeheartedly dependent upon the Lord and the movement of His Spirit.   

    As I listened intently and cried a few tears, I realized that this is what I wanted!  I wanted to be like the eagle that soars.  Often I feel tired and weary - I needed a good dose of rest.  But for some reason, God made me to be a flapper.  What am I not doing right, Lord? I wondered.   I reasoned...Is gravity still overcome by flapping? Yes!  But sometimes it's not quite as pretty as the action of soaring.  Matter of fact, the Bible only describes the ostrich as flapping. Durn.  

    Flapping is a fast ride, a slow ride, an up ride, a down ride.  It's a rush here and a rush there, a little laugh here, a big cry there, and this old girl a flappin' home. With some reluctance, after the service, I quietly confessed to my friend that I was a flapper.  Once she caught the drift of what I was trying to say, she laughed (like good friends do in a serious moment) and to my relief, she encouraged me all the more in my flapping.

    Sigh.  As I fluttered back home, I wondered what the Bible said....Now: here's the thrill!  The word "soar" or `alah has a TON of amazing English synonyms that would warm any Christian's heart: to excel, to take oneself away, to offer or bring up (gifts), to exalt, to be carried away.*  But the word for "flap" or `alac may just take the top notch!  It means to rejoice, exult, flap joyously (as an ostrich - okay, maybe not so sweet as the hummingbird) and to delight oneself.** 

    So, the lesson here:  whether you are a soar-er or a flapper, God has a special place for you in His kingdom.  Flappers do tend to get a bit more tired than our soar-er counterparts.  And without all that nectar, we just might faint--so go ahead and endulge in your chocolate.  I think God made me a flapper because in my scatter-brained, do-it-my-own-way weaknesses, He could so easily show Himself strong.  In His love for me, He tolerates my flapping because it leads me to Him.  Somehow He knows I just have to flap.  No more apologies.  And if this is you, give yourself a break!  Some of us are meant to flap. 
 

...for when I am weak, then I am strong.
2 Cor. 12:10

*Blue Letter Bible. "Dictionary and Word Search for  `alah(Strong's 5927)". Blue Letter Bible. 1996-2013. 19 Mar 2013.  <  http://   
www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?Strongs=H5927&t=NIV >

**Blue Letter Bible.  "Dictionary and Word Search for `alac (Strong's 5965)". Blue Letter Bible. 1996-2013. 19 Mar 2013. <  http://   www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?Strongs=H5965&t=NIV   >