Molting

A friend, Mary, gave me an idea to ask God for a picture, not just a word, at the beginning of this year for your life. She invited all of us to do the same. I was impressed with a picture of an eagle molting. The molting process allows an eagle to get new feathers. They lose their plumage so that the new can grow and replace the old. The eagle looks scruffy, vulnerable, and weak at this time. They come through this process renewed and beautiful like a young bird again physically. The fact that they are experienced and aged makes them even better than a young bird.

God has shown me over this year that I must trust Him to give me words to speak and to walk in His strength. He has pried my hands from the safe, secure, predictable life. The familiar Isaiah 40:29-31 passage tells us that God increases the power of the weak and renews the strength of those who hope in Him. With His empowerment, we can soar on wings like eagles and run and not grow weary. I learned that the eagle gets weak at the time of molting and cannot hunt because he doesn’t eat for a period of
time.

Similarly, every year I like to participate with my church in some form of a fast. It has been a way of resetting a fresh focus and clearing out the clutter of the past year.

I think my prayer would be to come out of this molting time renewed, strong, and able to help others more than before. I see now the fact that I am older serves as an advantage. I am reminded of Naomi coming back to life as she shared her wisdom with Ruth. She was able to help nurture Ruth’s new baby that was born in the line of David. My hope is that we could all be used to bring a heavenly influence and atmosphere to others. The old is gone, the new has come!