Even When I Can't See Him

Several weeks ago, I thought that I heard the familiar sound of the large bird that took up residence in the empty field beside our house (see previous posting "That Annoying Bird).  I heard the plaintive cry as I ran on an old railroad bed nearby that had been converted into a running path.  And then, later, the sound rang out from the trees as I ran up the long uphill street towards our house.  "I heard the hawk or falcon again," I announced with excitement as I came in from the cold.  "Not likely this time of year," my husband stated.  "It was probably just a crow."

A few days later while I was running, I approached a section of trail that skirts an industrial building and its adjacent lot of parked utility trucks. From overhead came an enormous bird, its wings spread out, swooping down as if he was a 747 jet coming in for a landing.   He grazed the path without touching the earth and flew up into a large tree nearby.  From my perspective on the ground, I could see him only because I saw where he had gone.  His tawny feathers blended into the bare winter boughs which stood against the sky like crazy lace.   He was camouflaged, but he was there.  I wondered at that moment how many times I had run past him, unaware of his presence, missing the delight of knowing he was there.

Over the course of days and weeks, I have seen him again swooping on the runway, twice soaring over a small local lake, and just the other day near the end of a run, landing resolutely right before me as if we had planned his arrival down to the very second.  I run differently now, aware of my surroundings, looking for him.

I stand in awe of this mighty creature, noble and majestic.

This morning as I read in the Psalms, hoping for the air outside to warm up a bit before I head out to run, I was reminded that I am surrounded by the LORD'S presence.  And even when I cannot see Him,  God is there, watching over and His steadfast love giving me strength.  It is not an illusion nor wishful thinking -- He is there. God changes everything by His Presence.

Keep me as the apple of the eye;
hide me in the shadow of Your wings.

                           Psalm 17.8