"You Are an Eagle--Fly!"

There is a story I have always loved about a naturalist who was driving down the road past a farm when he noticed a very peculiar site. There, pecking on the ground among the chickens was a bald eagle! The naturalist was stunned by the site, and determined to find out why an eagle would be pecking around where it didn't belong. He went up to the nearby house where the farmer sat in a lawn chair and asked the man, "Sir, I couldn't help but noticed that you have a bald eagle among your chickens. Where did he come from?" The farmer gave him a puzzled look and responded, "We only have chickens out there." The naturalist was surprised at the response. "No sir! I know birds, and you certainly have a bald eagle among your chickens."

Reluctantly, the farmer followed the naturalist out near the chicken coop, but upon seeing the birds, the farmer simply stated, "Those birds are all chickens." The naturalist determined he would have to prove the farmer wrong. He went among the chickens, picked up the eagle, an while pointing to the sky whispered, "You belong up there, not down here. You are an eagle! Fly!" Holding the bird out from him, the eagle looked around for a minute, then jumped from the man's hands to the ground where it continued to peck the ground. "I told you, that bird is a chicken," said the farmer smugly.

But the naturalist was not satisfied. He picked up the eagle and walked to the barn. He climbed a ladder to the roof, and went to the edge of the tall structure. With the chickens below, he pointed to the sky and whispered again to the eagle, "You belong up there, not down here. You are an eagle! Fly!" Holding the bird out from him, the eagle looked around for a minute, spread his wings slightly, but then jumping from the man's hands, it glided to the ground where it went back to peck with the chickens. The farmer shrugged his shoulders. "I told you, that bird is a chicken."

Still not satisfied, the naturalist picked up the eagle, and climbed into his truck. The farmer took the passenger seat curious to see the man's intentions. Getting off the main highway, they headed up a gravel road toward a nearby mountain. Switch back after switch back, they rose higher and higher until the meadows and fields were left behind, and they found themselves surrounded by tall trees. Near the summit, the naturalist parked along the edge of the road and walked down a path to the edge of a cliff. The farm, now miles away, was scarcely seen. In the still of the mountain air, the naturalist pointed to the sky, and for the last time whispered to the eagle, "You belong up there, not down here. You are an eagle! Fly!" Holding the bird out from him, the eagle looked around for a moment as if looking for his fellow chickens. But then, the great eagle spread his wings wide, and jumping from the man's hands, soared into the cloudless blue sky. The naturalist turned to the stunned farmer and said, "That is an eagle."

It is a story I have heard repeatedly in different ways; no doubt you have heard it many times as well. Whether it is fictional or not is debatable, but either way the moral is true and can be applied to our lives. The fact is we often are not doing all that we could to tap into our true potential. We have gotten used to kicking around in places that we were never meant for, doing things less than what we are capable of. But if we take a moment listen to the whisperings of those who believe in us, we will discover that we can do more, because we are more.

I encourage you to take a minute today and think about the untapped potential that you have, and what you can do to live up to your greatness. Don't settle for less than you are capable of. Set the goals you know you need to set; create the good habits and get rid of the bad ones that are holding you back; change the surroundings that you know that you need to change so that you can be the best that God intended you to be. "Raise your sites toward the sky, for heavenward is where we were made to fly!"