Letting Go to Grow

I once had the opportunity to save a life. Not in a big way, but empowering all the same. It was the life of a small bird, and it happened some years ago...

I used to have my office in Makati¹ then. Me and my partners rented a small unit on the twelfth floor of a building to serve as base for our design firm. And it was a magical office - all sorts of insects manage to find their to our window and land there for a bit... We even had moths larger than a full grown man's hand!

from MindLeaks.com

Yet, of all the creatures that visited, one that I can't forget the most was a particular small finch² (or Maya in Tagalog) that landed on our balcony. I never found out how it got there, but I think it was probably learning how to fly when it fell and found its way to me (on average days, I was the only one manning the office, by the way).

When I first found the little guy, I thought of bringing it in the office rather than letting it stay on the balcony, but I heard that finches die in captivity, so I opted to have it stay where it was.

I carefully placed a plastic water bottle cap on the balcony where I can put fresh water everyday, and shredded wheat bread to feed it. I consistently did this for days.

At first, the finch would cower away in a corner whenever I placed a fresh supply of food and water, but it eventually learned not to be afraid of me... I can even swear that it looked up at me one time and chirped as if to say, “Thank you!”

Days passed and I could see that it has gotten stronger. The day came when I went to the office, and was met by silence. I couldn't hear its chirps. I looked for the finch on the balcony, afraid that something might have happened, but it was nowhere to be seen. It must have gotten strong enough to fly on it's own. Meaning all the muscle and bone building food I gave it worked!

Of course, I was a little sad not having the little guy around, but a bigger part of me was happy that it grew strong enough to live the life a bird was meant to live.

All I can do was to let go.

Now, why I'm even telling you this story, is because we can relate to it in two ways as we walk in our Christian faith – As planters and as seeds...

1. As planters

As planters, our purpose is to nurture and to guide the way. Not to hold on to our seeds tightly. If the time comes when we need to let go, so our seeds can grow more, then we probably should.

As he was announcing an event in our church, I once heard a good reverend of ours say something like this, “Take this opportunity to invite your non-Christian friends or family members. You can also invite members of our church who have not attended for a long time... Now, if they're attending other churches, that's no problem with me... That means they're growing there. But if they're not attending our church, and are not attending any other churches. Then there's a problem. You have to invite them back.”

For me, that's a very good mind set – putting the greater good of the kingdom in mind first, before the congregation. Because frankly, most the time, we're more concerned with quantity of church members, rather than quality.

Romans 8:1
“There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.” (KJV)

2. As seeds

Just like the little bird had to leave the comforts of my balcony, so it can live the life a bird was meant to live, we too have to leave our comfort zone to find our true potential.

But sadly, this has not been the case for some people. One example I would like to share, is from my personal observation of what's happening in our church.

We have various ministries in St. Stephen's Parish that caters to specific age groups. However, the purpose of putting an age bracket for each ministry is being defeated when over-aged members refuse to move on.

Well, I don't really have the right to question their intentions for staying. Maybe it's their calling to stay behind, so they can tend to the younger brothers and sisters, after all. But if the reason for not moving forward is because of a significant other, comrades, sense of authority, security or even fear... Then maybe a reconsideration of priorities might be in order.

I don't know. But for me, I'd rather show gratitude for what God has given me by continuously bettering myself. Although, I haven't achieved any monumental goals in my life as of the moment, I take baby steps to reach them and be a better person in the process. We're just not meant to be stagnant! Even the bible tells us to keep moving forward (but with prayers, of course)...

Job 17:9
“The righteous keep moving forward, and those with clean hands become stronger and stronger.” (NLT)

Don’t be afraid to keep moving on,
For what was before, now has gone,
God wants to accomplish so much more,
But we need to move forward in the Lord.
© By M.S. Lowndes, Based on Isaiah 43:18-19

Be strong in the Lord and thank you!

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1 Makati City is a booming city in the Metro Manila area of the Philippines

2 Yes, the Maya is actually a finch called the Black-Headed Munia, and not a sparrow as we were all taught. For more info on this, visit http://amberskinlove.wordpress.com/2009/04/20/the-maya-bird-a-sparrow-or-a-finch/

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