“Migrations like this leave us staggered; we are such stodgy, rooted creatures. To think of crossing thousands of miles under our own power is as incomprehensible as jumping to the moon. Yet even the tiniest of birds perform such miracles,” writes Scott Weidensaul in his book "Living on the Wind: Across the Hemisphere with Migratory Birds."
“All day thy wings have fanned,
At that far height, the cold, thin atmosphere,
Yet, stoop not, weary to the welcome land
Though the dark night is here.”
(Verse 5, "To a Waterfowl,"
William Cullen Bryant)
Last week we noted that humans participating in extreme activities mimic a bird’s migration by pushing their bodies to the limits. This may beg the question: when humans scale mountain peaks bare-handed and leap off ridges in wingsuits, does God’s care and guidance follow them to these extremes?”
Birds can fly up to 5,000 feet, depending on the species, geography, and time of day. While a mile is a mere 2% of the distance to outer space, it’s still a staggering feat for a bird.
“Most birds were created to fly. Being grounded for them is a limitation within their ability to fly, not the other way around.” (William Paul Young's "The Shack")
In Verse 5, Bryant’s juxtaposition of the shorebird’s flying and being grounded provides a clear contrast and makes his counsel to the bird more telling.
In his allegorical novel, "The Great Divorce," C.S. Lewis provides a similar contrast between the airy heights of Heaven and the grounded earthly community called Shadowlands - a contrast with dire consequences.
In the book, we follow a group of passengers traveling to heaven on a flying bus. After much lurching, clamoring, and arguing, they arrive and disembark. They are invited to stay if they wish; however, soon all but one clamber back onto the bus: the light is blinding, the souls they meet ask disturbingly penetrating questions, and everything is so solid and real that the grass hurts their feet. They return to earth, to Shadowlands, a grey, dull world of compromise and concession. Luminous spirits guide the pilgrim who chooses to stay to the mountains of eternal joy.
Lewis’ message is clear: Heaven is available to everyone; God doesn’t turn anyone away. We turn away from Him through the decisions we make at life's crossroads, when we face a challenge and must choose between faith and doubt, hope and despair, acceptance and resignation, love and fear, good and evil, and ultimately God’s will and our will. For example:
Faith vs. doubt is the difference between believing in order to understand and needing to understand first before believing. Relying on our finite minds to determine whether we believe leads to doubt. In Laura Hillenbrand’s "Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption," she writes "What God asks of men, said [Billy] Graham, is faith. His invisibility is the truest test of that faith. To know who sees him, God makes himself unseen."
Acceptance versus resignation: when life doesn’t go our way, these reactions may seem similar; however, acceptance is an active, courageous embrace of reality that allows for personal growth; resignation is a passive form of denial or defeat.
Just as the choices we make at life’s crossroads determine our eternal destiny, Bryant counsels the shorebird not to quit the journey when times get tough:
In a TED talk given by Weidensaul, he said, "Migration is the most dangerous part of a bird’s annual cycle. But now on top of natural hazards like storms and exhaustion, we have added man-made challenges from habitat loss to collisions with lighted skyscrapers and communication towers.”
Staying the course requires determination, perseverance, and faith. Quitting is tempting. Choosing the simplest, least-demanding path, cutting corners, and compromising one’s values “lands” us in Shadowlands.
By “stoop(ing) not, weary to the welcome land” a shorebird will not reach its destination; we may reach Heaven, but choose not to stay.
“In the end,” counsels Lewis, “there are only two kinds of people: those who say to God, ‘Thy will be done,’ and those to whom God says, 'Thy will be done.’ All who reject Heaven choose to do so.”
“Stoop not…”
Readers can track migrating birds in their locale by downloading BirdCast.
To access the entire poem, visit https://poets.org/poem/waterfo...
