Encouragement

Most people who know me also know that I love to watch birds. One of the great joys of a road trip is seeing a hawk perched in the branches of a tree or soaring high over a field. On a recent trip with my brother, we saw an osprey high up in a dead tree. At first glance, we thought it was an eagle. As I write in my study at home, I watch flocks of sparrows in our back yard. The finches have moved on for now. They'll return when the sunflowers bloom. Birds inspire me. Their beauty increases my sense of gratitude.

A few years ago when I was working as a chaplain at Methodist Hospital in Memphis, I was out on an emergency call in the middle of the night. A heart attack had suddenly claimed the life of a beloved husband and father. The family and friends were in shock as I helped them make phone calls, sip from trembling cups of coffee and cry on each other's shoulders. We stood in a circle for prayer before I walked outside to breathe the 4 a.m. air and stretch my sleepy muscles. I was heading back to the on-call room, hoping to get at least one full hour of sleep before day light.

Through the cool darkness I heard honking, Canadian geese flew in formation over my head. Wisps of clouds surrounded their flight as they moved, a single unit, across the sky. Geese fly in a formation that confronts the force of an oncoming wind. The leader has to exert the most energy as her/his beak cuts into a wall of wind. The others follow. No one goose is expected to lead all the time. That demanding duty is rotated regularly as geese migrate. All the geese honk their voices as an encouragement for the one who leads, calling to the one who is working the hardest as they travel together. Encouraging the leader is as significant as being the leader. The flock moves forward as one unit. The goal is to survive.

I found myself crying, standing alone on the sidewalk outside the hospital. I cried for hardships that wild animals endure in this world. I cried for the family who had just begun to process their tragedy and loss. But I also recognized the taste of sweetness in my tears...in the family's response to one another. Their hugs, comforting words and shared memories would hold each friend and family member, encourage them as they moved forward through the next few days and weeks. Just as the geese honk to let the leader know s/he is not working alone, not beating those great wings against the air for nothing. We are all in this life together. If we're going to make it, we'll make it by flying together as one surviving group, moving toward the fulfillment of our community's highest vision.