Bird, You Weren’t Made to Walk

I wonder if this bird ever thinks, “This kinda stinks, I can’t even walk.” Then from somewhere a voice says, “Bird, you weren’t made to walk.”

I really wanted to write about how I’ve had friends who only think of the disadvantages in their life but, just to be honest, most of my friends are the opposite. They are like this bird; not dwelling on what they can’t do, but thriving in their ability to fly.

I catch myself thinking things I don’t excel at: I’m not good speaking in front of crowds, I don’t like having to delegate, I can be air-headed, I’m not cool like Matthew McConaughey. These thoughts can be discouraging and I wish I could say that as soon as they enter my mind I kindly show them the door, but sometimes I dwell on them. Sometimes I like beating myself up over the things I can’t do, or the abilities I wasn’t born with.

Maybe this bird was born with two legs but something happened on the lake and now he just has the one. A glass half empty mindset says this bird would lose a race with a cheetah. A kangaroo can jump way higher. He can’t even walk, forced to hop on a single leg. But the beauty of this bird is that he wasn’t created to walk. He was made to fly.

Where in our lives do we excel? Those areas are probably the “wings” God gave you and me. Have you discovered what God has designed you to do yet? I’m not sure I have, but I hope one day for you and for me that we find our groove and we fly like this bird.

“I’m thankful for my struggle because, without it, I wouldn’t have stumbled across my strength.”

Alex Elle

-Out of the Wilderness