LAST FLIGHT
As a young bird I sang a whimsical tune that no one quite understood. Since my first departure, I never stopped flying not even in the most testing moments.
I was pushed from the nest without nurturing or training only neglect as I struggled vigorously flapping my wings then suddenly taking flight to an uncertain independence.
Some thought they heard the sweetest cry but sore were my wings in those turbulent skies. Though, always, asking myself why would anyone abash a tiny insignificant bird?
I flew with wings bruised and tattered by the heartlessness of others, while all I wanted was the chance to convey my story of a merciless journey.
Today my prayers ask only, ‘Will God raise me from up from under these clouds of crushing defeat with fractured bones and scarcity of feathers to take flight or shall I succumb to this final fall?’
I’ve never given up hope longing for an end to the relentless rains and impenetrable dust storms pounding against my shattered wings and spirit.
Many years ago you judged me as a painfully shy creature but my fate as a young bird forced me to fly or die in the grueling reality of lone survival.
Neither time nor error stopped this arduous flight rejected by immense winds, my heart always hiding high above clouds as the day’s blue skies went dark.
With so many fearful thoughts as I shiver perched alone in a lowly tree from my soul one question does pour out: “Is this my last flight?”
Slowly back in flight to a meager nest only to find I’ve lost a beloved kin, I no longer have a place of solace; surely this ill-timed loss has broken me.
If I’m no longer able to take to the sky this deeply worries me leaving behind my only fledgling and although he has his primary feathers I believe he still requires my loving guidance and protection.
Will I live to rejoice in my devotion and faithfulness to God? Or, have I fought this battle and prayed all the days of my life for an inconsequential conclusion!
As my last flight draws near, I implore dearest God to allow me dignity in that departure so that I can bestow a profound hope in others who continue to face the most severe of persecutions in this life.