We’re back in Memphis this week, celebrating our grandson Caleb’s third birthday. The last time we were here, we left to go pick up groceries and while we were gone, a large bird of prey landed on the fence in the back yard. I heard that he even spread his wings, showing off, before he left. It was a missed opportunity.
We think the bird was a Mississippi Kite, a bird that is not seen in Georgia. I actually saw one sitting atop a power pole on our last trip to Memphis as we drove to a nearby town. It was an amazing sight, but extremely brief as the car sped by. So this week, I’ve been watching the back fence, hoping the Kite would show up again. So far, no Kites have landed on the fence. But three of them have been circling overhead. We’ve watched them drift on the wind currents and do their acrobatic movements.
It’s been good to watch the Kites in flight and I’ve taken dozens of, to be honest, disappointing photos of them now. But I can’t help feel that I still missed out on that closer encounter. It was a missed opportunity.
I’ve been told that one of the Kites has now landed on the back fence twice. I’ve seen neither encounters. I know I’ve missed out on something incredibly amazing.
Isn’t that the perfect picture of life? We go through life doing the things that have to be done, and along the way, we miss out on other things. What we miss is not intentional. We’re busy. We’re overworked. We’re overstressed.
Maybe we miss out on an amazing sight. Maybe we miss out on spending time with the people who are most important to us. Maybe we miss out on our time with the Lord. Whatever these moments are, they’re missed opportunities. The more I think of it, the more I can picture Mary and Martha, the sisters in Bethany who loved the Lord. One was so busy that she almost missed out on her time with Jesus. The other put being with Jesus first. She took advantage of the opportunity to be in His presence.
I pray God helps me see opportunities before I miss any more of them.
