Geese lessons

It was raining both ways on my recent travels to Delaware. As I tried to make the most of my dwindling days of driving alone by listening to all my favorite songs (and yes, I sang along… loudly), the geese got me thinking. Every time the rain broke, geese could be seen, heading for the warmer south as the temperatures have dropped.

I’ve seen them every year for the past 27 years, but this year something about their journey moved me, most likely as I am about to make a journey of my own. Untrained and uneducated, geese fly in a V formation for the best aerodynamics and switch frontrunners so no one goose is too tired. They didn’t take flight 101 or hold a town meeting to decide on the best time to go and the best way to travel. They don’t have Mapquest to inform them of the detours and they certainly don’t have a GPS navigation system with a pleasant voice to sooth and direct them when a highway covers their traditional rest stop. It’s something “other,” that drives them.
Looking back much of my journey been driven by a sources not fully understood by even me. I can look at family history, friends & mentors, education & work, but looking at those things makes it even more evident that a greater power is at work orchestrating all these things so perfectly. Seeing that, even in the lives of geese, is a sweet comfort…because as thrilled as I am to be getting on an airplane in two weeks, the leaving is much more difficult that I thought. Some people I may never see again. Others I will surely see but it won’t be the same as hugs or coffee every day or every week. It’s good that it’s hard because it’s a testimony to how wonderful life has been these past years in Lynchburg, but it’s still hard at the end of the day to truly do the proverbial “letting go.”

And all those thoughts came together in a passage of Isaiah that I read last night: “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways…As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts that your thoughts. As the rain and snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish…so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.” (55) So good to know there’s a purpose, a plan, and a Guide.

In lighter news, my niece is simply…AMAZING! Seriously. I cannot tell you what a joy it is to spend time with her and the rest of my family this Christmas. Now with all that comfort and joy (see below), I’m going to buckle down this week to get my house cleaned and packed! After all, I only have 13 days left. HAPPY NEW YEARS!