Sunday July 15, 2007

I was out wogging along the creek a couple days ago, minding my own business, when I looked up and saw an eagle fly by.  Yup, and eagle.  Bald head and all.  But in Port Franks, Ontario?!

Now those of you who have been following this blog for a while know that my wogging has gotten me into trouble before.  Nearly a year ago, I was huffing and puffing in the hills near Riedlingen when a naked, apple-picking man appeared a stone’s throw from me.  And no, I wasn’t hallucinating from lack of oxygen to the brain, and no, I didn’t call the police.  I just picked up my pace and tried to focus my memory’s eye on the sole item of clothing the aging German was wearing: hiking boots.  If you somehow missed that story, follow this link…

https://www.xanga.com/serenitymine/538923948/of-naked-men-and-wogging-that-should-get-your-attention.html

But back to the eagle and the creek.  I looked up, briefly distracted from my screaming muscles by the overhead bird, then looked back down to the…  Wait a minute—an EAGLE??  I looked back up, thinking the apparition might be some sort of mutant seagull.  You now, the kind with the big yellow beak, broad wingspan and impressive talons.  But the bird, even on second glance, looked so much like an eagle that I decreased my pace, increased my breathing, and tried to think happy thoughts about jogging not being a fatal form of exercise.  My first words, when I got home, were “Mom, I might be losing my mind, but I’m pretty sure I just saw a bald eagle!”  She didn’t dial 9-1-1 and she didn’t try to smack some sense into me.  She just told me that there had been some sightings in this area lately and pointed me toward the laundry room where I found a newspaper clipping she’d kept because the picture of the “mutant seagull” was so good.

And to think I’d briefly blamed my hallucination on a panoply of plausible causes like lack of sleep due to hyper-Letterman-itus or a raging case of oy-my-aching-back-itus.  My first reaction had NOT been to believe what I was seeing and rejoice in the amazingness of it.  My first reaction had been to convince myself that I wasn’t really seeing what I thought I was seeing.

Ready for the parallel?  Here it is: I believe we spend way too much time looking for ways to discredit the Miracle Moments in life instead of gazing at the Eagles God sends our way and thanking Him for brightening our lives with unexpected events, encounters and sights.  We’re so very good at dismissing the small things with over-analysis.  We meet someone we really enjoy and convince ourselves that they’re probably not that great in “real life.”  We find JUST the item we were wanting to buy–and at a majorly discounted price–and we tell ourselves it probably would have been even cheaper somewhere else.  We gasp at the glory of a breathtaking sunset, then remind ourselves that it really spells rain for tomorrow.

Now granted, there are times when it pays to be skeptical.  I’m a strong proponent of caution and research when it comes to commitments, investments and dreams.  When there’s evidence that things are not what they seem, it’s safest to suspend judgment and wait for more data, as some recent headliners prove:  Paris Hilton, Michael Moore and Hillary Clinton, to name a few.  But if the “happening” we witness is something that brightens our outlook, restores our sense of gratitude and sharpens our perspective, why not put our cynicism on hold and THANK GOD for sending His Eagles our way? If we do, it will make life seem a little less like this dock, hemmed in by impossibility and blind to anything beyond it:

…and recognizing the Miracle Moments may even allow us to raise our gaze above the obscuring weeds and see His glory beyond our current challenges.

And, to quote Forrest Gump, “that’s all I have to say about that!”

PS:  Clark (my camera) has just undergone a bit of cosmetic surgery.  He’s got a brand new lens—a wonderful telephoto that will HOPEFULLY take better pictures of the next bride and groom I photograph!  Here’s a sampling of his latest work…