Plucked Eagles Soar

Bill Brown ... Xiamen University
"The first was like a lion and had the wings of an eagle. I kept looking until its wings were plucked, and it was lifted up from the ground and made to stand on two feet like a man; a human mind also was given to it." Daniel 7:4

"You yourselves have seen...how I bore you on eagles' wings, and brought you to Myself." Exodus 19:4 NAS

Since childhood I have had vivid dreams of flying like an eagle, with broad wings outstretched, almost unmoving, soaring on the rapidly rising mid-morning thermals that would tear smaller birds apart, gliding for hours, soaring to 10,000 feet or higher, and diving at speeds approaching 200 mph.

In countless dreams I have been braced by crisp morning winds, and and soared and swooped with the slightest flick of a wingtip--and then awakened to find myself still earthbound in bed. What a bitter disappointment! I feel like the plucked eagle of of Daniel 7:4, which was made to stand on two feet. And yet that plucked eagle was blessed with something that eagles do not have--a human mind.

Soaring Minds Eagles are amazing creatures, but they have a very small brain, about an inch in size. But people are made in the image of our Father, and are blessed with brains and minds that allow us to soar mentally and spiritually, to be creative like our Father, and to grow and mature until the day that we have both wisdom and wings.

Borne on eagles' wings. Last year, a good friend let me soar around Los Angeles with him in his small plane. The most exciting part was when he let me take over the stick for a few minutes. But it wasn't as easy as it looked, and I was thankful that he was beside me to take over. It reminded me of Exodus 10:4, where God said to the Israelites, "You yourselves have seen ... how I bore you on eagles' wings, and brought you to myself."

For now, my Father bears me on his wings, but when I have matured, I will soar on my own.

"They will mount up with wings like eagles..." Isaiah 40:31 NAS

Wait, renew, soar. Isaiah 40:31 promises, "But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint." (KJV--the best translation of this verse!)

I may be a plucked eagle for now but at least I can walk, run, and think, and I want to do the best I can with what I've got. After all, if I can't use my feet and head, if I can't walk and run, why should my Father give me wings to soar?

Today, I walk, run, and learn, and in my head and my heart and my dreams I soar, but my Father promises that soon I will mount up on my own wings as eagles, rising on thermals to heights even the eagles will envy.

My Favorite Flying Quotes
"It is possible to fly without motors, but not without knowledge and skill." Wilbur Wright

"According to classical aerodynamics, it is impossible for the bumblebee to fly." Doctor Who

"Not the cry, but the flight of the wild duck, leads the flock to fly and follow." Proverb

"No flying machine will ever fly from New York to Paris...no known motor can run at the requisite speed for four days without stopping." Orville Wright.

"One must learn to fall, if one would fly." Richard Bach

"Poetry is the journal of a sea animal living on land, wanting to fly into the air." Carl Sandburg

"Sometimes you wake up. Sometimes the fall kills you. And sometimes, when you fall, you fly." Neil Gaiman

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