The Wonder of a Simple Little Bird
Posted on May 31, 2007
Filed Under Worldview |
Yesterday, my wife and I joined my father (94 years old) on the side of a hill to watch the Thunderbirds put on their show for the Air Force Academy graduation. I took a few pictures with my tiny little pocket camera, so they are not the greatest, but I’ve posted them here for you to get a feel for what we were watching. Two pictures I didn’t really take, but downloaded from the Thunderbird’s website. Can you tell which two are not mine?
The Thunderbirds are amazing and I always get a rush whenever I see them perform. Their initial entrance is a low-level fly-over of the Academy stadium. However, it isn’t just a “whenever-you-can-get-there” deal. It is timed to perfection. When the final graduation word is spoken, the cadets all throw their hats into the air and at the precise moment those hats reach the peak of the toss, the formation of F16’s with their 27,000 pound thrust engines burst into the stadium’s air space with a roar and thunder that will rock your socks and shake your toes. It is a thrill that has little comparison. By the way, timing a formation of supersonic jet aircraft and a bunch of subsonic cadet hats is no small feat. But they nail it year after year.
So, we and about 30 people were enjoying the amazing feats of these high-performance jet aircraft, commanded by some of the Air Force’s best pilots, flying in close formation, high-performance turns, near-miss thrills, and the final, famous bomb-burst where the four-ship formation is in a vertical climb and then they split out like a banana peel while one of the solo jets flies vertically up the middle doing continual aileron rolls. Wow! What a show!
But through out the 45-minute performance, something else was happening that was even more amazing. My wife and I kept commenting on it and smiling with awe. A little bird was performing in front of us as well. I know it seems strange, but it is true. I don’t know for sure what kind of bird it was, but it had wings that didn’t just end like a normal wing, but they had a little piece that was swept backward. Maybe some of you can identify it. Anyway, this bird was flying all kinds of maneuvers in front of us: steep dives, high-performance turns, soaring—back and forth. It was like it wanted to show off what it could do as well. And it did it continually from the time the Thunderbirds began until they ended.
As I began to watch it, I was struck by the wonder of this creature that God had made. We spend $20 million dollars for each of those F-16c aircraft, and here was a common little bird that could out-perform the best flying machine man can create. I watched as it dipped and flitted, turning on a dime, effortlessly showing us that it could fly circles around anything we could build. It climbed straight up, turned and did a steep dive, only to abruptly pull up, and land instantaneously on the flimsiest of branches in a nearby tree. I think I saw it turn and smile at us. No runway, no control tower, no ground crew. Just a simple little bird. Showing us the glory of God’s magnificent creative work.
“But ask the animals, and they will teach you, or the birds of the air, and they will tell you; or speak to the earth, and it will teach you, or let the fish of the sea inform you. Which of all these does not know that the hand of the LORD has done this?” Job 12:7-9
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Dr. Del Tackett is president of the Focus on the Family Institute and Senior Vice President to Focus on the Family. He is also the architect and chief spokesperson for Focus on the Family's The Truth Project--a nationwide initiative designed to bring the Christian worldview to the body of Christ.
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From the Wright Flyer, the P-51 Mustang, the F-86 Sabre, the SR-71 Blackbird, the F-15 Eagle, the F-16 Fighting Falcon, the F-117 Stealth Fighter, and now the YF-22 Raptor, I continue to marvel at how quickly evolution takes place even with the constraint of time. This is tongue in cheek, of course, but these achievements in less than a century is truly a spectacular testament to the potential God has given us. It is also humbling given the realization that war, politics at the tip of the sword, is a great expeditor.
Great post. I am a HUGE fan of creation myself. I see the hand and the glory of God in everything he has created. Even when I look at the colors of a beautiful flowers, I am reminded that it is God who dressed the flower in those colors. Also, the beautiful colors and design of birds is an act of God, let alone their wonderful flying maneuvers. Thanks again for reminding me.
[…] air show, but a little bird outperformed them. I’ll leave the explanation to him. Read it HERE. […]
We would love to see a picture of the bird!
Del, you should read Sec. Gates speech. It was the real highlight of the day for me. Although the air show was truly awesome.
Del,
Ever since discovering this site, I really have enjoyed reading your blogs and keeping updated on what is going on in your life. This particular post caught my eye, because I have the privilage to view the wonder of God’s creation on a daily basis. One month ago, my 5 year old Mare (a beautiful brown and white Paint) foaled a perfectly healthy little Filly. We had no idea she was on the way and still do not know the Sire. However it has been an awesome blessing watching the Mare care for her Filly using the motherly instincts God has granted her. Every time I witness them together John 12:7-9 comes to mind. I hope all is going well for you and I am sure you are excited about the new students that have just arrived!
SDG
Jesse Brunk
What great thoughts! Thanks for sharing Del. I remembered what you wrote as I was atop Sugarloaf Mountain watching the bees buzz around. These simple yet elegantly designed insects produce their energy with such efficiency it makes the most sophisticated jet engine look like a square wheel in light of God’s witty inventions.
I am so glad you are feeling better. I have been praying for you. Our church family just finished the tour on History. What an amazing journey this has been for us. As a mother of seven with my oldest now contemplating college this has been very timely. Our three oldest have been watching it with us. I believe the bird you were watching was a swallow. He probably was catching bugs im mid air as well as performing for you. God is truly amazing. All of this for His Glory - every ;little detail and every little bird!!!
Del,
I just completed the Truth Project at my church a couple weeks ago and then learned about this blog recently. I am enjoying it immensely! The Truth Project was marvelous. I was very sad after the last one ended and I thought I would no longer be privy to your teachings.
This posting is remarkably similar to a comment that I remember from one of the first sermons I ever heard on Creation vs. Evolution. My pastor at that that time was Mike Breaux (now a teaching pastor at Willow Creek). He shared a moment he had on a beach one day watching a sandpiper make its way across the shoreline. To his other side, construction workers were putting up new high rise condominiums. The thought he shared with us was this: “They want me to believe that those buildings have a designer, engineer, architect, blueprint, and contractors. Yet this sandpiper just happened by chance?”
At the time I was a newly saved Christian. I was struggling greatly with my lifelong belief in Evolution, into which I was indoctrinated since about the fourth grade. This comment was the first step God took in setting my captive mind free. Thank you for reminding me of it so well. I praise God for your intellect and ability to communicate His worldview. God bless and keep writing!
Patti W.
Dr Tackett
Sounds like you were watching the amazing flying of some Purple Martins. The are amazing acrobats of the air, they turn, and swoop every which way as they search out their meals, which just happen to be flying insects. We have many of them in Kansas, and I am often entertained by them as I cut my lawn. They’re looking for insects disturbed by my mowing and I’m just trying to keep a straight line as I watch them perform.
Our Lord is so awesome in His creation,it’s diversity, complexity and it’s beauty. How marvelous it is to think that these are only a pale glimmer into the awesome glories of Heaven. God’s Blessings to you and Yours and to all who labor at Focus, what an awesome place and Ministry, coincidentally statrted at the same time we statrted our walk with the Lord back in 1978. “God blesses us in the simplest things if we have but eyes to see and ears to hear”.