The kids and I were playing in the driveway last year, when a tiny visitor swooped into our garage. “Mom, it’s a hummingbird!” my son yelled, and he was right. We watched the little guy fly around for a few minutes, then we started to worry. One hour passed. Then two. The garage door was wide open, but the hummingbird wouldn’t leave the ceiling. He anxiously fluttered back and forth just above the open door, never dipping low enough to escape.
As I helplessly watched my gentle friend, I thought about my own life in Christ. How many times have I pushed and struggled against a ceiling, when the open door was on the ground? The kingdom of God is not like the world.
Mark 10:43 says, “On the contrary, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you must be a slave to all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life—a ransom for many.”
The world will tell you to climb higher and reach further, but that is not the way Christ modeled for us. In his kingdom, the way up is down. The way high is low. The way to get your life is to lose it for his sake. Every other way is ceiling-covered captivity.
These days I find myself not so much reaching for the stars as reaching for the diaper bag and the goldfish crackers. Through the exhaustion and the emptying of self that is ten years of motherhood, I really am seeing one big open door to freedom in Christ. Freedom to be weak. Freedom to open my hands and give him more control of my days. Freedom to not be even close to perfect and talk more about the One who is. Freedom to use dry shampoo 5 days in a row. Glory!
Our little friend finally exhausted himself, and dipped just low enough to fly away home. Isn’t that how it happens to us? It often takes my exhaustion before I fly low enough to see Jesus. What thing in your life is pulling you off the ceiling and low to the ground? Don’t despise it. The very thing pulling you down may just pull you straight to that blue-sky, fresh-air, wide-open space with Christ that will turn out for your good and his glory.
*This article first appeared in Journey magazine.