Still Following?

 

I finished up with my "Real Ideas" responsibilities and had a few hours this afternoon to go outside and walk. I grabbed my camera, grabbed my wife (saving the best grab for last) and took off.  In less than a mile we saw one of the coolest sights! An Osprey was building a nest in a tall tree near the path.

Thinking I’d probably never see an Osprey so close, or nest so large, I stayed right there – taking picture after picture - trying to compensate for the fact that I’d failed to bring my telephoto lens. Thirty minutes later I reluctantly yielded to Sheila’s entreaties and started walking again. I was sure the best of the journey was behind me. After all, what could possibly compare with the solitary majesty of an Osprey on its nest?

Long story short, would you like to know how many Ospreys we saw in the next two hours? More than 60 different birds!  Want to know how many nests we saw being built? More than two dozen! No kidding. It was amazing! Birds were flying everywhere, carrying twigs and moss and branches to enlarge their already enormous nests.

As we walked I kept thinking, “I almost missed all this. What if I stopped back there and didn't come out here?" 

Then I thought, "How many times have I mistakenly assumed that the best of life was behind me? How many times have I lost interest in moving ahead, thinking the future God has for me couldn’t possibly be as good as the present? How often have I tragically assumed I’d be better off standing where Jesus led me, than eagerly following Him wherever He wants me to go?”

Lesson learned.

As good (or bad) as this day is, tomorrow is in God’s Hands and I will trust Him to lead me forward. He knows where I need to be; He knows where I need to go.

I’m gonna keep moving; I'm going to keep following....

John 10:27  -  My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.

Comments

[Mark McClean]

Beautiful bird. Thought it was a Bald Eagle before I started reading. Shows you how much I know about birds :-)

"Keep moving forward" is one of the simplest, yet most profound life concepts currently gaining strength in my life.

I remember an old boss of mine about 20 years ago repeating that mantra over and over again. At the time it didn't register with me. Yea...yea...yea...keep moving forward...whatever you say.

But this was one tough old "geezer", as tough a man as I've ever worked for or met when it comes to crunching out work. He was 67 years old at the time and worked 7 days a week, about 100 hours, running grocery/meat shop. This guy was made of steel. He had to be to raise a family of 10 children on the earnings of a small grocery/meat store.

I had many flare ups working side by side with this old Italian but respected his work ethic and willingness to do whatever it took to complete the mountainous stack of ever-present work.

I use to ask him in the wee hours of a Friday night as he and I prepared for the Saturday onslaught of customers, "what are some of your "keys" to success." One of the first things out of his mouth always was,

"Keep moving forward...just keep moving forward."

Leaders do that. He was a natural leader. So are you. It doesn't go unnoticed or unappreciated.

[DC Curry]

Thanks for the reminder, great post!