On Growth When Waiting in Place

Not long ago, hiking, I saw a hawk in the distance.  It was flapping its wings in place, not moving forward, not descending, staying aloft.  I commented on this to a passerby.  He said, “There must be an analogy there somewhere.”  I laughed.  But inside, I was agreeing with him. 

When things go wrong, there often is something I contributed to the problem, even if I am not the primary source, and I look for it.  It allows me to take control of my response and is part of making changes where I can.  I also look for contributing factors outside what I did or said, and similarly look for what I can effect and what I can control.  While the “Serenity Prayer” is useful, a book called Resilience at Work: How to Succeed No Matter What Life Throws at You, by Salvatore R. Maddi, claims there is more we can control in life than we might think.  In saying that, the book is referring both to hardy attitudes and to actions resulting from that, such as identifying what we can do in, through and to the situation, and maintaining perspective and hope for the future, and other coping mechanisms. 

But what happens when circumstances are truly outside our control.  Perhaps our actions leading up to the circumstances contributed in some way – the hawk chose to fly at a particular height in a particular direction, and who knows what led to that decision – but our current actions are limited to trying to cope in the situation and make the most of it.  That tests our patience.  That hawk flapped its wings in place, at 1500ft, for a long while.  Eventually, the wind changed, and the hawk was able to rise above and soar again. 

Often, I think of growth as getting stretched, getting knocked down, getting back up, getting back up again, getting back up again, getting back up again, getting back up again . . . and overcoming / having some success in new skills and habits developed.  What can I do when I am going through a period where I feel like I am flapping my wings, in place, like the hawk – where going backwards is not an option, where changing course is not possible, and where I am doing all I can to maintain pending a shift in the wind?  Where I may have done or said things that led to my current circumstances -- and where I may have even seen the circumstances coming and actively or passively chose not to shift course -- but where I cannot control the wind?  I think growth can also involve learning how to do well, in place.  I can make that my current endeavor.  In my experience, in those circumstances, I learn some things about myself and about life that might help when the wind shifts and I start to soar on the wind again. 

The muscles gained and emotional / mental fortitude gained flying in place are worth the effort – no matter how many times I get back up.  In the midst of it, that can be hard to believe . . . and I have to fight to maintain purpose to my actions.  It is difficult.  I have to keep the end in mind.  

So even playing the waiting game can be played well and is an exercise in resilience.  It is an exercise in maintaining emotional and mental discipline.  I am not as effective at it as I would like . . . but I get back up and try again, and again, and again . . . And when it is over, I will be stronger as a result.  

I suspect I will face this a number of times in my life.  I want to be good at it.  The good news is I don't have to do this on my own strength . . .     

“Though youths grow weary and tired, and vigorous young men stumble badly, yet those who wait for the Lord will gain new strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles, they will run and not get tired, they will walk and not become weary.”  (Isaiah 4:30-31, NASB) This applies to flapping your wings in place, as well – whether or not, or independent of how long till, the situation changes.   God gives strength, peace of mind, and resolve.  Or as the Psalmist says (Psalm 23) – “You restore my soul.”