
I graduated from Corona High School, and for those of you who don't know that is in Southern California, about 50 miles from the the beautiful beach and coastline.
Anyway, one of my and my sisters favorite things to do would be, drive through the parking lot of the school after hours and chase off the flock of about 100 or so seagulls. Often times during lunch break this swarm of seagulls would fly over and crap on random people (I had to bring that up).
Well, looking back it stuns me that the seagulls have taken a wrong turn. Instead of staying within their boundaries they soar out and ruin lives (haha that's a little extreme) but they just get in the way. And instead of discovering where they went wrong, they've settled for less -- the asphalt parking lot -- rather than going back to the salty sea. They've reconciled themselves to feeding on the refuge and trash of harried school kids rather than the fresh seafood cuisine of their feathered forefathers.
It's not just the seagulls that are lost... who have forgotten the reason for their very existence, the habitat for which they were created to survive and thrive. It is human beings as well. Many have become lost. They are standing in the parking lot of life subsisting off of the refuse of fast living.
Someone needs to point them to the ocean of opportunity, the sea of success, the shore of satisfaction. And I'm not talking about money or materialism... that IS mere French fries compared to the abundant life that God has for His image bearers. "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future" (Jeremiah 29:11).
Do you know someone who is discouraged? Who has taken a wrong turn in life? Who has let the fire go out on their hopes and dreams? A friend? A husband? A child? If so, hang the fire extinguisher back in the corner and become an encourager, help fan even the smallest spark of potential into a huge flame. Let's send those "gulls" and "bouys" back to the sea of opportunity where they belong.
Don't settled for less than His best. Don't give up on your hopes and dreams. Remember our Lord doesn't want us to be like the seagulls who feed on trash, get lost and settle for less, but like the eagles who soar peacefully in the sky. "But those who trust in the LORD will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint." Isaiah 40:31