Thinking Out Loud, Volume CCLI

This is a story about a man who was in need of some "me" time, where he could get away from everything and everybody and just spend some time alone with his thoughts. I was listening to my Sirius radio in my car when I heard him telling about his experience, but I can't remember his name, so I guess, for now at least, he will have to remain anonymous. He said things had not been going his way, and he just needed some solitude where he could gather his thoughts and maybe have some one on one communication with God, and apparently, he got his wish. He drove out to the base of the mountain, parked his car, and found a place where he could lay back and observe the beauty of God's creation. It was a gorgeous day...you know the kind of day I'm talking about...the temperature was perfect, there were a few big white fluffy clouds floating around in the sky, topped off with a soft, pleasant southerly breeze. He said as he lay there, just soaking up all the magnificence of his surroundings, he spotted a large eagle with its wings spread as it lazily glided around in the autumn sky, adding that final touch of perfection to an already flawless day. He felt that if there was ever an ideal time to hear from God, this would be it. He was about to hear from God alright, but what he didn't realize was that in order for him to receive the message that God had for him, those perfect conditions he was experiencing would have to be altered.

The change was sudden. One minute he was enjoying the soft breeze whispering in from the south, and the next minute it shifted, adopting a new identity as a hard, steady north wind. With the shift of the wind, his attitude made a similar adjustment, and he then realized that he was apparently not alone in his frustration as he heard what he described as angry squawks from the eagle overhead. Or maybe it was God speaking through the voice of the eagle, directing his attention toward the sky so that he could witness a demonstration that would provide for him the message that he had come to receive. He thought about how if the shifting wind had had such a dramatic effect on him on the ground, how much more of an impact it must be having on that eagle above his head; but it was the eagle's next move that drove home the point that he so desperately needed. Instead of ducking for cover, that giant bird simply adjusted his wings and turned to face the raging wind, causing it to begin to gain altitude. He said that although he was becoming uncomfortably cold with the new chill factor that was now in effect, he just couldn't take his eyes off of that eagle as it soared higher and higher into the heavens. Soon it was nothing more than a tiny speck in the sky. Message received. He then walked back to his car with a brand new attitude and a brand new determination: "I will turn and face that which has come against me and use it to lift me higher and higher."

As we welcome the dawning hours of 2011, I've decided that instead of making a page full of resolutions that are unlikely to be kept, I'm going to make just one big one and do my dead level best to see it to fruition. If you would like to know what it is, just go back and reread the last sentence in the previous paragraph. In fact, I'm going to state it one more time, if for no other reason, to re-enforce it in my own mind: "I will turn and face that which has come against me and use it to lift me higher and higher." If you stop and think about some of the greatest names in the history of our nation, and determine what it was that made each one of them great, you will find that in each situation, the one thing that made each one of those men and women become models of our inspiration, it is how they reacted to adversity. That's easy for us to say, but ladies and gentlemen, the problems those heroes faced were real and obviously weighed heavy on each of their minds. It's impossible for me to reach my full potential without facing head on and overcoming difficult situations in my life. I've never heard of a book called "Great Wimps of American History." I must admit that I detest adversity with all of my heart, but if that's what it takes to make me become the man that I need to be, then I'll turn and look it straight in the eye and say, "Bring it on."

Happy New Year!

Preston