Faith: In God, find freedom to become your best self

Words and birds. Freedom and faith.

I’d planned to begin by sharing a simple story about a bird that “flew the coop.” But then I flew a little off course by looking for a little “poop” (as in, information) about “flying the coop.” Forgive me, but you understand that, with many birds around, the type of information I just mentioned drops pretty much everywhere.

“Flying the coop” led me to a Merriam-Webster online article about “Common Idioms That Come from Chickens” (along with poop, I guess). They list seven, from “flying the coop” to “pecking order” to “putting all your eggs in one basket” to... Well, I’ll let you tease your brain to fill out a nice seven or many more. But I need to switch birds here.

Years ago, I built in our back yard what I call my bird house. It’s a weathered wood, rustic, old barn-shed sort of building, with walls strung with lots of chicken wire (back to the cluckers we are). It’s decorated with some old tools, cans, and junk, and birdled — I assume “birdled” is to birds as “peopled” is to people — mostly with a few pied (white and beige “mottled”) ringneck doves.

One fewer now.

You see, if you plan to keep birds, you need to feed and water them. Often. And, in my bird establishment, carrying out those tasks involves opening a screen door. Often.

That’s what I was doing a couple of weeks ago when I heard, and felt, a swoosh over my head. News flash! Or news swoosh! Immediate notice. I’d become complacent, and one of the doves had flown the coop. Well, rats! (Or birds!)

It’s been years ago, but this has happened before.

Most such doves who run (fly) away from home hang around in the area, as has this one. It started showing up in nearby trees (out of reach). Then it began to sit on the roof of its former home (out of reach). Then it proceeded also to strut around the yard and peck for the seeds we’ve charitably (but with ulterior motives) tossed out. Yes, we can get close to the bird, but the escapee stays, please repeat after me, “out of reach.”

The saga is not over. Stay tuned for updates, but here’s the thing: I don’t claim to know how the feathery creature’s tiny but amazing brain works. My own small mind surmises that, very soon after this turbo-charged dovish corsair sailed over my head and out into a dangerous and difficult world, it would have liked to reconsider, to contact the tower, and to request a vector back toward plentiful food and water — and away from the many sharp-toothed creatures for which it is a brightly painted attraction.

I’d open the door for that bird’s return if I could offer a real choice and not thereby tempt three more doves to fly the same coop. I’ve talked to the bird, looked into its eyes, and offered food from my hand. No understanding has been reached.

When God entered this world, he came identifying with his human creatures completely. But even for God “incarnate” (in the flesh), well, trying to get us to understand and choose to trust him for our highest good was not easy.

We could talk about whether the dove I’ve mentioned is better off “in the wild” or back safely home behind the chicken wire, eating well, and not living life as a tasty target.

But what my Father wants for me is freedom, deep and real. As George MacDonald has written, “But a free will is not the liberty to do whatever one likes, but the power of doing whatever one sees ought to be done, even in the very face of otherwise overwhelming impulse. There lies freedom indeed.”

Ironically, when we freely choose to give ourselves, to fly, to the Lord who gave himself for us, we find freedom to become our best selves. It really is “for freedom that Christ has set us free” (Galatians 5:1). In our Creator’s love and power, genuine freedom is truly “within our reach.”

Curtis Shelburne writes about faith for The Eastern New Mexico News. Contact him at:

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