“It is beautiful to discover our wings and learn how to fly; flight is a beautiful process. But then to rest on the wings of God as He flies: this is divine.” ~C JoyBell C.
Step up to the edge and look over.
Knees shake.
Chest tightens.
Heart to throat.
A million butterflies release.
Deep breath.
Jump. Leap. Fly.
Soar.
There it is. The word.
SOAR.
It first visited me three years ago, in a note written by my best friend. I opened the little envelope as I watched the sunrise over the hills in Western Romania. I thought I knew what it meant then. I thought the soaring was about other people, other things, other ministry. Now I see that the word was being planted in my heart for such a time as this.
How many times has that happened to you? Something – a moment or a word or a picture – finds its way into your heart to be tended to there, so when the time is right, it comes to life in a new way?
When I first began praying about what word might become my anthem for 2015, two words emerged.
SOAR (still).
And it was the “still” that perplexed me. Because it means three things:
To rest.
To calm.
To remain.
I wondered how “soar” and “still” could live in the same space – and why one would silently follow the other. Until I remembered this:
God doesn’t come and go. God lasts.
He’s Creator of all you can see or imagine.
He doesn’t get tired out, doesn’t pause to catch His breath.
And He knows everything, inside and out.
He energizes those who get tired,
gives fresh strength to dropouts.
For even young people tire and drop out,
young folk in their prime stumble and fall.
But those who wait upon God get fresh strength.
They spread their wings and soar like eagles,
They run and don’t get tired,
they walk and don’t lag behind. ~Isaiah 40 (MSG)
Soaring is past the leap. Soaring is past the flying. Soaring is catching the air currents like an eagle, allowing divinity to hold and lift and carry. Soaring is powerfully moving and then stopping. Resting. Calming. And remaining.
As much as soaring is powerful, it is also completely dependent. Soaring is so bold – not because it defies gravity, but because it has faith to believe it won’t fall (still).
And the tears fall. Because two years ago, my word was “willing” – both the strong-natured pressing onward and the yielding. Last year, it was “redeem” – both the make all things new and the being made new. And those years have led to this one.
They have tended to my heart too.
A million butterflies release again.
God turns you from one feeling to another and teaches by means of opposites so that you will have two wings to fly, not one. ~Rumi
My best friend crafted this for me to honor 2015’s word. The Monja Blanca (White Nun Orchid) on the Guatemalan 50 centavo represents beauty, art, and peace. But it means so much more in this moment. The flower grows on other plants rather than standing on its own – it’s dependent on their strength to hold it up. Yet it needs no other flower to recreate itself. It’s rare (an albino, actually) and it’s beautiful, and its center looks like a nun on her knees in prayer. The orchid takes 15 years to bloom, and then only blooms from December to February.
And I hear the question being asked by the One who created the White Nun: “Would you wait 15 years to only bloom for three months? Would you be willing to be held up by others in order to have the power to give your life away?
“Are you ready to risk it all to show how rare and beautiful you really are?”
Here’s to that risk. Here’s to the waiting and the blooming season. Here’s to soaring. And to you – the ones who will hold me up – I say “thank you.” You’ll be part of the stories I’m writing and the stories I’m learning along the way. You’ll help this girl give her life away.
(And to my best friend who holds the other wing, I say, “God is so good to me to give me you. Here’s to our words. Here’s to the books and the artwork and the all-in.”)
*****
What is your word this year? And what is it that you are willing to risk to show how rare and beautiful you really are? I’d love to know. I’ll be like that orchid – on my knees in prayer for you.
Thank you for making me thing of the ‘more’ parts of life. This coming year is going to bring some life challenges for me so my words have become ‘perseverance’ and ‘strength’
Those are powerful words. And I am praying for you right now – I’m not going to stop!
Ronne–The word that came to me last year was joy. I feel like I need to find it again. I continue on putting one foot in front of the other but it still is hard to declare joy. I still miss my Alan and am not fond of being alone even though I know God is present. Giggle came up this year. Maybe those two are meant to be together? Hmmmm–maybe it’s God telling me to cast off the mantle of fear of being alone? I love your thoughtful posts. So meaningful for me. 🙂
I think of Psalm 16, where joy and happiness walk together – so I think there’s very much something in your words of “joy” and “giggle.” I think 2015 is the year where you will rest in a joy that’s not shaken by circumstance, and you will find laughter in the midst of it. I love the idea of casting off the mantle of fear. That’s bold and powerful. And something we can all do. Love you, Janet. Thankful for you.
I will bless the Lord who advises me;
even at night I am instructed
in the depths of my mind.
8 I always put the Lord in front of me;
I will not stumble because he is on my right side.
9 That’s why my heart celebrates and my mood is joyous;
yes, my whole body will rest in safety.
Ronne- God spoke to me as I read this that I needed a WORD for this year.
I begs to read words chosen by others, but mine didn’t come so I prayed. Then Sunday, Gods message was about Paul’s command to rejoice always. I left church knowing my word was to be JOY. Two days later I get another blog from Ann Voscamp and a line explaining one of the benefits of taking the challenge to record 1000 gifts is JOY. I downloaded the app and began my list tonight.
Thank you for your words! God used them in my heart and now I am doing something I have put off for a long time. I love you, friend!
Oh Mary Jo, I love your word. Joy is so rich, and I wonder if we’ll ever be able to fully plumb its depths. I pray for this year with that word as your banner, that you’ll be filled to overflowing with joy, and that you’ll see how beautiful those bursts of happiness are when they rest on the steadfast power of that joy. I look forward to watching your #1000gifts! Love you!
Thank you for this post. I found it by a roundabout route but I feel it was God-led.
This morning I read a devotional about how having a clear focus helps us to find the strength to run the race. It resonated with me, but I didn’t know what my focus should be. I am housebound with severe chronic disease, and have had to abandon past goals and dreams. How can I have a focus when I am physically and cognitively incapable of achieving much of anything at all? Yet I felt it was something God was prompting me to explore. (I know an obvious focus would be health – and I do try to maximise my health as much as possible – but for me, it is unhealthy to make health my main goal, as it becomes something of an idol, and stops me finding contentment, peace and joy in my situation, and blocks my view of the beautiful stuff that happens amongst the difficulties. Health is important, but it can’t be my sole focus in life or my reason for keeping going each day.)
Then this evening a tweet caught my eye, which led me to a blog post. I enjoyed the post, so I looked around the blog a bit, and noticed a reference to the one word 365 website. I looked around there a bit, and found a list of possible words people could choose as their word for the year. There were lots that logically made sense to pick, but the word ‘soar’ just leapt out at me and struck my heart. So then I looked for other people who have chosen the word ‘soar’, and happened to find the link to your site.
So much of what you wrote in this post resonated deeply with me and brought me to tears. Soaring is not about striving or relying on my own strength or finding the physical ability to fly, but about resting on – and trusting in – God’s thermals to keep me aloft and take me where He wants me. And it’s about rising above the messy details of life, getting perspective and seeing beauty.
I think I need time to process it all, but I just had to stop and say thank you, and to let you know that God is using you to speak to random people on the Internet!
Thank you so much.
I’m just blown away by God’s kindness. Thank you for sharing your story!