When I was 4, there was this older lady at church who would give me money. Every week she would give me $1. I thought I was rich. Not so much today, but the amount of candy you could buy with $1 was sugar coma-inducing. Every week like clockwork, I would get that $1.
Read: The Value of Having a Tender Heart
Time passed, and I went away to college. I came back to visit, and that lady was still there. She still gave me $1. She never heard of inflation, I guess. But what I remember about that little old lady was a piece of advice she gave me.
She said, “Don’t be an eagle still plucking with the chickens.”
That old lady has long since transitioned to heaven, and I will miss her and especially that $1. But mostly, what I will miss about her is just being here to explain what in the world does that saying mean.” I love chicken. It is the top 3 all-time food I like to eat, and her saying it makes it sound like chicken is a derogatory term.
Is it ok to fight an older person over this? Think about that girl back in middle school or high school who said they would die for you. Chicken is better than that person because chicken actually died for you. I don’t even know why I am getting upset about this.
It took until I was older and wiser and knew everything in life. Somewhere around 24 or 25 years old to realize what she meant. There is a verse in I Corinthians 13:11 that says,
“When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me.”
Then it was like in the movies when the light beam shines on your head, and the angels harmonize because you just made a glorious revelation.
Soar like an Eagle
There comes the point in your life when you must realize that the things you did before, while fun and exciting, don’t necessarily line up with where you have moved to in life. For example, I can’t go to an all-night party at age 39 and expect to be up at 5 am to go to work. To most people, that is a “well duh” thought. But trust me, there are millions of people who still are plucking with the chickens when God has called them to soar like an eagle.
We aren’t necessarily looking down on a chicken as a bad thing. We can have an old best friend from childhood who still shirks responsibility and lives like 18 years old and still loves them at a healthy distance. We can still live a life that they can look Christ-like while not engaging in that sort of behavior. Everyone still taps into that childish behavior from time to time.
I remember when I let my daughter eat an entire box of children’s granola bars to see if she would eat the whole box (she did, and I am so proud of her, I have been chasing that high ever since). But to engage in childish behavior regularly is not healthy. You must graduate from milk to soft foods to solid foods and then to chicken. See, chicken is so good you can cook it so many ways. Anyway, I digress. Eventually, we must grow up.
God put us here for a purpose, and we must find out what that is, whether it be from the bible. A little old lady who teaches you at church is a tragedy that happens in our lives, whatever the case may be. If you are plucking at the ground for a few seeds, you might miss it if you are supposed to be soaring hundreds of feet in the air with an eagle-eyed view. When you know better, you do better.
You can’t fly if you are afraid to fail. Failing is a part of growing up. Falling nine times is not what makes you a man it’s what you do when you get up that last time that matters. It’s ok to have fun and enjoy life. It is ok to take a break and not work 60 hours a week. It is ok to mess up and fix it. Just don’t be an eagle still plucking with the chickens.
Prescott Williamson is a Bible-believing Christian. He is a husband, a father, and someone who believes that there is a little humor to be found in whatever situation God sends your way. He was born in the small islands of the Bahamas but now lives in the Suburbs of Fort Worth Texas, which is basically the same thing. He enjoys TV, reading, blogging and serving in his church (especially on the days they serve donuts). You can see what I have been thinking about lately on my blog www.prescottascoolbreeze.com.
