The Bungee Cord 12-3-18

Hello,

     Robin’s egg blue….canary yellow….cardinal red…..goose turd green. Goose turd green.  I was rumbling through facebook, and someone had posted a picture of a ball of yarn, dubbed the color “goose turd green”.

     As one who lived in Rochester, Minnesota for a year, I am well acquainted with this color.  Rochester, Minnesota is the home to 30,000 + Canadian geese who winter there because the lake in the center of the city stays open all winter long.  A power plant accesses and disposes of water from that lake, and though the Minnesota winter weather crusts most lakes with several feet of ice, the power plant’s water disposal keeps Rochester’s lake de-iced. And who wouldn’t blame a high flying migrating Canadian goose to drastically cut its travel south and plop down in Minnesota.   30,000 of them or more every winter!   The throng of geese are not very welcome, though. The farmers dread them because they devour their unharvested fields, and the residents of Rochester dislike them because of the presents they left behind….goose turds.

     So, when I saw the name for this color of yarn, I knew exactly what hue of green that it was describing having dodged my share of goose turds, and also having not dodged them….after all, when you are walking in an area of 30,000 geese, the space to place your foot that isn’t already inhabited by a goose turd is rather difficult.  Goode turd greed.  Without even seeing the picture, I knew  what it would look like.   A kind of steel colored green.  A green that is blended with a degree of black, with a bit of white chalkiness added to it.  

     It is interesting how pairing a color with a certain bird creates a clear and universally understood description of that color. Robin’s egg blue….canary yellow….cardinal read….goose turd green.  Maybe, then, it is no wonder that the Scriptures also pair a bird with an attribute of God in order to create a clear and universally understood image of that attribute.

Isaiah 40.31:
but those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength,
   they shall mount up with wings like eagles,
they shall run and not be weary,
   they shall walk and not faint.

     “Wings like eagles”  Not like the wings of a sparrow…not like the wings of a crow….not like the wings of a hummingbird…..but, like wings of an eagle.  Wings with power and might to carry in its talons a large salmon, wings that allow it to soar high into the air and take on raging currents, wings that fold back and become like arrow feathers as the bird dives to the earth in breakneck speeds.  As Scripture says, those who wait upon the Lord, draw upon the Lord’s power and might, they face life with “wings like eagles.”

     So, when you face those gale force winds in life that would try and propel you into dark and dangerous storms…when you find yourself fishing for hopes that swim speedily by like migrating salmon….when you find yourself caught in downdrafts of despair and fear….when you find yourself being taunted by grackles and blue jays…..remember this, you who wait upon the Lord are equipped with “wings like eagles”,….wings that will empower you to take on whatever life may send your way….wings that will empower you to have the courage to dive into life with no fear….wings that will empower you to soar above the pettiness and foolishness of the world….wings strong enough for you to lift in your talons those who are floundering….wings to give you flight no matter the tempest of the day.

     If you, like me, have a clear picture of “goose turd green”, may you have even a clearer image of the wings that God’s power and might have bestowed upon you…..not canary wings…not hummingbird wings….not crows wings….not goose wings….but eagles wings!  Soar in God’s grace.

Have a great week,

God’s grace and peace, (ggap)

Pastor Jerry Nuernberger