The sky was crowded as I walked my two-mile circuit the other day. Up very high a jet was streaking across leaving vapor trails in its wake. A little lower two small prop planes were taking off from the local Caldwell airport. In the distance was a training helicopter that is housed at that airport. But right above my head was the most beautiful sight of all. I watched “a hawk making lazy circles in the sky!”
Of course, that line comes from the title song of the musical, “Oklahoma,” by Rogers and Hammerstein. Since we had just returned from watching our grandson play Will Parker in that musical, the lyrics readily came to mind.
I stood for a few minutes just watching that hawk. We live in an area that is surrounded by agricultural fields, so hawks are prevalent. We’ve even had them sit on our back fence. They aren’t a very pretty bird just sitting on the fence, but when they take to the sky, spread those wings and start to circle, they are magnificent.
The hawk I watched had a gorgeous underbelly, almost all white. He spread his wings and caught the air currents, and then silently began to circle the recently plowed field. It was a magnificent moment. As I watched, I thought about soaring on wings like eagles (maybe hawks?). The jet, the planes and the helicopter, created by men, were great, but that hawk was God’s creation and it was beautiful. It put the jet and the planes and the helicopter to shame.
We too are God’s creation. Sometimes we may not feel very beautiful, like a hawk sitting on the fence. But when we spread our wings in Christ and soar with the Gospel, we are truly beautiful. “How beautiful upon the mountains Are the feet of him who brings good news, Who proclaims peace, Who brings glad tidings of good things, Who proclaims salvation, Who says to Zion, ‘Your God reigns!’” [Isa 52:7]
