My in-laws live down a dirt road. Their house and road are surrounded by farm land so there are lots of animals and birds around. This last Sunday as we were leaving there was a quail running in front of us as we drove down the road. This happens all the time during the spring and summer. I have watched these birds for years run as fast as they can down the road in front of the car. As they are running all I can think is, “You can fly you know. You will be out of harms way quickly if you just take off.” Finally as a last resort as the car is coming on their tail feathers they fly off.
On Sunday as we were driving I mentioned again, (because I say it all the time) “Quails are stupid! Why don’t they just fly away? Don’t they know they could be free and safe so quickly?” My husband then said, “You know they are a lot like people. How often do we just run in front of problems or stress when we could fly away?”
I sat there for a minute then said, “Thanks honey, you just wrote another blog post for me.” It is true. We can fly! Each one of us has so much going for us. We have talents and experiences that have prepared us for where we are today. We have the help of a Heavenly Father that loves us and wants us to succeed.
So why do we spend so much of our time running in front of stress and problems instead of flying away? Because of fear. We know what life is like in the middle of the problem but change is scary. We could fly away from the problem by making a different choice but it is scary to think about where that may lead us. Are we ready to make that change? What will other people think of us if we start that business? What will happen if we stop doing all of the favors for everyone?
I understand the fear. I have lived with the fear of change most of my life. But the fear of not changing is now becoming stronger. The fear of never working for my goals is becoming stronger. I am getting close to mid-life now. I have lived long enough to start looking back on my life while I still have time to change. The thought of not going after my goals because of fear is sad. I don’t want fear to be the story of my life.
So I am choosing to change. I am choosing to work on myself to overcome the fear that has kept me captive. I am trying new things. I am taking steps to achieve goals that I have always put off to someday. I have decided that I can fly to my goals and the kind of life I imagine.
I know that I can fly. I am stretching out my wings and it feels good!
