A Hint of Things to Come

Life constantly offers opportunities for us to grow and change, especially before and during times of transition.  Through our very lives, God speaks, providing inspiration for the journey.  If we are youngish and pliable, if our hearts are open, we receive exactly what we need to help us walk through times that scare us.

I find inspiration in the beat of duck wings, the rise of the morning sun, in imagines sent to me through comments of friends, through poems and wise-sayings on email or social media.  All become soul sensing hints of things to come, illuminations of the step right before us ....even as our eyes can’t see much of the journey ahead and our minds tend to worry and fret.

My grandson, Jude, lives in a tiny apartment attached to our house. At three, he really doesn’t understand the lines that divide our living spaces, or that his family won’t live here forever.  His daddy just graduated from college and there is talk of looking for a job and moving to a new place. So, change is coming. 

For months now, unprompted by any adult, Jude found and savored a book called Mouse Moves House. On the day he found it, I thanked the God who prompts and draws us to find the things we need to help move us interiorly in tune with outer change.  At first, the story of moving, terrified the small boy.  He wanted me to read it often; he’d sit enraptured and unsettled. I'd watch the play of emotions moving across his face.  Every time the story ended, he’d loudly proclaim his dislike. Yet, day after day, he’d pick it out again for me to read.  

These days, he loves the words and pictures of Mouse packing his backpack and dropping plates into a big bag, having a cheese snack in the middle of packing up. His mind has adjusted to the scary thought of moving from a home known since birth. 

Good storytelling often moves us forward, opens a reader’s heart toward greater understanding or toward something in life’s horizon.  Add the element of God, of the Divine Mystery (how do those stories and imagines end up right where we’ll find them when we need them?) and you’ve got a hint of how things work:  equilibrium to disequilibrium, and back to equilibrium…on and on in the cycle of life and growth - kissed by Eternal Wisdom, a God holding us in Love always. Whether we’re in the midst of being drawn to concepts or changes beyond our understandings, whether we're dug in and resisting, or flying wild and free, we are equally loved!  As we work our way from the comfort of the known, from the cozy nest, inching toward our edges before slipping into the wild unknown, we are usually filled with doubts, fears and dread.  How little we trust the process, or God’s great holding of us, or the drawing towards growth that results in greater love, spaciousness, and freedom. When we finally take flight, we realize the air under our wings is the same air that lined our cozy nest. The nest, the struggle to launch, the flying, and the very air around us is all part of the Great Holding.

As I prepare for some difficult transitions of my own, I am aware I’m being held. This helps me trust the God who loves Jude- that somehow all will be well – as Jude grows up with or without us sharing the same house.  I feel God’s love whenever I read to Jude, sharing stories of timeless wisdom or in making up my own stories to help Jude understand his world.  Stories have equal meaning to reader and listener.  Here's another favorite of Jude's:  The Egg Book. 

What wonderful, simple wisdom!

Reminds me of Jude's and my conversations as we watch the ducks in our old, unused farm lagoon.

Every day Jude and I count the ducks in our farm lagoon.  Ten this afternoon.

     “Nana, why not fifteen?”

     “Five flew away!”

     “But, I’m so sad. I miss them!”  The small boy’s face looks truly dejected.

     “I miss them too, and yet, I’m happy for them.”

     “Why?”

     “They are FLYING!! Wouldn’t it be awesome to fly? When they were little ducks all alone in their shell, they only knew what the inside of their egg shell looked like. Then they hatched and discovered this awesome lagoon and all their brothers and sisters. They loved it in the lagoon. They learned to paddle and float. They learned to peep and whistle for their momma. They learned to hide under momma’s wings to keep warm. They ate bugs,worms and feed we threw them on the ledge. They tried to catch frogs that popped and croaked on their tiny island.

     But, as they grew up, this wonderful lagoon started feeling small. There wasn’t enough room on the island for everyone to comfortably sleep.  The bigger ducks chased smaller ducks away from their favorite spot under the rushes.

     As they grew bigger, there wasn’t enough room on the ledge for them all to eat. So they started fighting over who got to eat first. Some ducklings got all pecked up and their feathers got pulled out by the bossier ducks.

     And then, they grew bigger still. They heard ducks flying over their heads, in the sky. And what is that wide blue dome above them; what is the sky made of?  They started imagining themselves up there. They started flapping their wings. They tried flying from the island to the ledge.  They wondered what it was like out there in the big, wide world beyond this tiny lagoon.

     One day, five ducks that were fat, sleek and all grown up, flew from the ledge to the island, the island to the ledge and then simply lifted themselves up, up, pumped their wings harder and flew over the lagoon fence. They flew into the wild, blue sky and were very glad they were ducks."

     “Why?”

     “Because they are flying high and seeing the world.”

     “Why?”

     “Because everyone needs to leave home sooner or later, sometimes more than once.”

     “Nana. I yike that.”  I smile and nod.

     “And, I don’t yike it too.”

     “Ah, you got that right, kid.”

We hi-fived, and said farewell - have a great life! -  to the five fly-aways.  

We watched the remaining ten as they pecked and preened. Then we kissed our hands and waved them at the ducks and went on to play baseball in the

pasture above the fenced-in lagoon.

And one final bit of wonderful wisdom:  This image was sent to me by a friend through email. I loved it so much I asked the author/artist, Kristin Noelle, if I may share this on my blog. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. Prints can be ordered on Kristin's website:  https://www.etsy.com/shop/TrustTending?page=2