My sister and I were on our way back from a long walk along the coastal path from Frinton to Holland-on Sea in Essex. The loud sound of a crow made me turn around, only to hear two gulls screech right over my head as they dropped something. It looked like a rabbit or pigeon. Was it still alive? It was a small grey bird of prey, wings and tail feathers spread out, face down. The gulls swooped at me! I stood over the bird and swung my arms up, bracing myself in case my fingers were bitten! As the gulls continued to circle, with the crow standing nearby, I saw the little bird's back pumping and pounding as its heart and lungs worked for dear life. My sister and I were getting picked up by car, so I stayed by the bird to keep the gulls and crow away in the hope it would recover
When our friend arrived I couldn't leave the bird because as soon as I stepped back it came under attack again. It was an amazing privilege to stand just inches away from such a creature, which turned out to be a male sparrowhawk. After a while it lifted its head, blinking and panting with its beak open. It spent ages just looking around, then stood to its feet, showing beautiful white striped leg-feathers. The attackers were some way off now and suddenly the recovered bird flew off to the side and perched on a nearby roof. Yay!! It was alive and free!
Pride in Our Magnificence
Birds of prey look magnificent when in flight. My attention is caught by those I see hovering at the side of the road as I'm driving along. There are also at least three Red Kites that soar effortlessly in the skies over my home on the very edge of the city of Peterborough. Sometimes I see crows mobbing these magnificent birds but with little effect on their graceful flight path. So it was a total surprise for me to see a bird with excellent flight skills being literally grounded by such an attack. Had I not been there, willing to risk an injury myself and determined to protect it for as long as the bird needed to recover, I believe it would have come to a nasty end. Sometimes no matter how skilled we are, no matter how gifted we are, regardless of our magnificent performance, we are knocked to the ground by the unexpected twists and turns of life in this world. Our pride in ourselves is suddenly revealed as a false foundation for living. It's at times like these that we need someone else to stand by us, someone bigger than us, and bigger than our enemies.
We are unlikely to be mobbed by a malevolent crow but our enemy can manifest in physical form. It's rare for an individual to walk willingly into a toxic and damaging situation, knowing it will hurt. We are usually deceived by outward appearances that seem so genuine. We are lured by our natural needs and desires. An enemy has no regard for the wellbeing of another and seeks only their own ends. We believe what we see and hear and are taken advantage of. In the natural world, this could be a person with dark personality traits who draws your attention, drains you, takes whatever you have to offer and leaves you broken once you are of no further use. Behind such behaviour there is the realm of spiritual darkness in operation. The way out of spiritual darkness is to turn towards the light. But are you heading for safety or is that a train coming towards you? You may take pride in your ability to protect yourself if you see the enemy coming but what if you are being deceived? If it isn't a fair fight and you are knocked to the ground and at the end of your strength, how will you rescue yourself?
Power in the Truth
I was brought up in the Catholic tradition and my perception of our Saviour was 'gentle Jesus, meek and mild'. This didn't help at all when I was bullied, but fighting back did, so I developed a successfully aggressive approach to life. When this grew exhausting I looked for a better way and started my quest for spiritual guidance. I discovered there was also considerable power available in many spiritual practices. There was a general theme of acquiring knowledge, accessing hidden realms and attracting the things you desired. Many teachings emphasised the power within you, that You were the centre of the universe, that YOU could set your intention to manifest whatever YOU wanted.
For me, life didn't work like that. When I had tried everything within my power to get out of a broken and toxic situation, I had to look outside of myself. I needed help and it came in the natural form of people and the supernatural form of the Holy Spirit. Without my faith in God, I would have come to a nasty end. It was only as I drove out of the solicitor's car park into the sunset, with tears of relief streaming down my face, that I had a major spiritual revelation. I was thanking God for delivering me from evil and giving me back my freedom. As I spoke the name of Jesus Christ I realised the huge power that had come to set me free from the trap I had fallen for. At last I saw that Jesus Christ really HAD saved me from the bullies after all. The childhood myth I had believed was a lie. I believe that spiritual darkness is the root cause of the hurt, loss and damage that happens in people's lives. If we sincerely seek the truth, and look to God the Creator of all things, we will be able to let go of our self-centred pride. We will overcome the darkness because of someone bigger than us, and bigger than our enemies, standing over us to protect and love us until we are able to fly to freedom.
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