Updraft

There's a really great talk I listened to recently, where the speaker shared something she observed at the beach, and I keep thinking about it. I'll share her words: 

"Once, at the beach, I saw a bird flying into the wind, flapping its wings so hard, almost frenetically, but staying in the same place. Then I noticed another bird, higher up. It had caught an updraft and was floating easily, unburdened in the wind. That’s the difference between trying to do this by ourselves and turning to our Savior, letting Him lift us, with “healing in his wings.”

- Tamara Runia, Your Repentance Doesn’t Burden Jesus Christ; It Brightens His Joy

I've seen birds like the first one do this before... and I've felt like these birds before. It's amazing to me that just that simple shift upward can make such a huge difference, between frenetic flapping and soaring freely. Sometimes it seems like these shifts are too simple, like there should be more required. But it truly is as simple as opening up and accepting His love and help.

He is the ultimate updraft, and it's available every time we are ready to soar.