"Nanna, can you come?"

"Nanna, can you come?"

I was in the middle of Easter baking, my yeast proofing, ingredients ready to mix when the phone rang.
It was my granddaughter - but her voice had an unmistakable undercurrent of urgency or fear.

"Nanna, we were in the house when sudenly there was a rumbling and the house shook and then there sounds like ... 'ooooooohhhhhhwwww' We were sooo scared we ran outside but we could still hear the sounds.. Now we are too scared to go back inside and we are kinda hiding outside. Can you come?"

They knew Nanna would come. Short of death, they knew nothing would keep me from answering their call.
Being without a car, I threw on a jacket, grabbed my house keys and hurried the ten minute walking distance between our houses.
I found them waiting for me. When they saw me, they ran to meet me.
The door had been left wide open and I went inside, the girls tentatively following at a safe distance. I first checked the kitchen for appliances left on or making noises. Nothing. The girls were sure the noises had come from downstairs.
I immediately turned to descend the stairs encouraged by admiring voices.. "Nanna, you are sooo brave!"
Yes, of course!

I looked all around downstairs... checked closets and storage rooms... nothing - all was still.
Seeing that I seemed to be in no immediate danger, the girls followed me into the back room.
Suddenly they gasped as they looked at their father's computer screen . The realization dawned on what had happened. The computer had been left on some kind of standby and had suddenly without warning -- with the volume on high -- blasted out a youtube of scary sound effects.

Visible relief washed over the girls, they giggled with released nervous tension and I was hugged and profusely thanked for coming to rescue them even though it had turned out to be nothing to be afraid of.

As I walked back home, I thought about their confidence and faith in me. They KNEW I would come, they only had to ask.

We just celebrated Easter, remembering that Jesus came in answer to man's cry for help.
Even death could not stop Him. He conquered it and saved us !
Now with what confidence can we call upon Him and know our every need will be met.
His words "Fear not!" allow us to tread upon the enemy and go where others tremble.
He has gone before us... we can follow Him, secure in knowing He is our trustworthy guide.

"So we may boldly say, ' The Lord is my helper, I will not fear. What can man do to me?" Heb. 13:8
**

Like an Eagle

My son-in-love sent me a link to a live web-cam of an eagle's nest. It is fascinating to get a rare view of the life of eaglets in their nest. You can find the cam-link here .

I have spent hours watching the activity in this nest and so thankful for this Virgina cam that allows us to see what would otherwise be impossible.
It has so moved me as I have watched and seen displayed before me a 'picture' of the nature of God.

The eagle is a bird of prey with no predator of its own. It rules the high places and the small creatures below are at its mercy.
It is equipped with sharp, powerful talons that kill with ease and a strong beak to tear flesh apart !
The eagle has extraordinary visual abilities to see detail at great distances. Little escapes its attention.
It has no equal in the sky!
What terror must flash into the hearts of creatures who see the dreaded shadow of the eagle over them in the last seconds of their life.

And yet....

I watch this same eagle guard her young with such tenderness.
I see the nest meticulously created. I've watched the eagle keep it in good repair, picking up a loose twig and weaving it back into the nest wall.
I see how the food is brought to the nest and the mother tears off pieces and offers them with gentleness to the young who expectantly lift their open beaks.
I watch how the eagle hovers over the young to shelter them without crushing them.

What melts my heart most is watching the little eaglets.

I see how they are so totally unaware that their tender caregiver is a powerful beast of prey. There is no fear at all in their beating hearts. The shadow of the powerful wings sweeping over them brings no response of terror but rather a happy welcome to a returning parent.
I note how they are so content with the parent's presence on the nest. Without fear of provoking wrath they pecked at her feathers and curl up to sleep at her feet - never questioning the fact that they are perfectly safe.
I also wonder at how freely the little ones move and tumble in the nest that is still to them very spacious. They have no sense of the danger their lofty 'home' presents - how carelessly leaning over the edge could send them free falling to certain death. They simply trust.

But one day soon they will experience the most terrifying day of their lives. The nest - the only home they know - will become cramped and small and an unfamiliar restlessness will overwhelm them. Then one day the mother will do the unthinkable... she will push them out of the nest and they begin their deathly descent with nothing to cling to.
All security is gone! What is wrong ?? Why has their own mother turned on them?

But she hasn't .... she watches ... and then before the eaglet falls far enough to be in danger she swoops underneath and catches the young one on her wings. She takes it back up to the nest only to push it out again. Terrified, the young one finally realizes that it has wings and spreads them out and soars in the sky ... suddenly experiencing the freedom for which it was born!

I'm sure you know where I am heading ... God is like the eagle.. unequaled in the heavens... powerful and a God to be feared .... "It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God." Heb 10:31

and yet ...
He is as gentle as a mother to His own. He provides , He cares for our needs, He hovers over us to protect.
We grow in our trust .... we experience His love and faithfulness toward us.. but then one day tragedy strikes in our life and we free fall, terrified! Where is God ???

Just like the eagle, He is watching .... waiting ....

God wants us to be free to be all He created us to be ... but to do that we need to learn to fly... and we can't do that unless He pushes us out of our comfort zone....where the security we have trusted in is stripped away .... where there is nothing left but God Himself.
Just when we feel there is no hope left, He catches us on His wings and carries us to Himself. as He says.... "I bare you on eagles wings and took you to Myself" Ex.19:4

How great and loving is our God.... and how worthy is He of our trust and love. Always - 24/7.