HARVEST. Spring 2020 | Page 9

Grant Me My Wings Jared Jones The Earth has confined me for too long. I have been limited, walking and running, Moving, but not really going anywhere. The ground is too rough, The desert sands scorch my feet, The snow freezes my body. I can barely swim across a pool, Much less an ocean with powerful currents, I can barely climb a tree, Much less the mountains with their paths so steep. I can touch the summits of mountains, never having to climb them. And I can help others. The strength that I once used to save myself I can now use to help others, as they too wait for God to grant them their wings. A responsibility that comes with my wings, one that I will not take for granted. Frustrated, I have cut through thorny thickets and ferocious forests, Infested with racism and toxicity, with lies and perversion, Those animals have claimed the lives of so many before me, They tried to claim mine… I just manage to survive, and I bear the scars and blisters, the boils and the festers to prove it. And granted, I will still have to bear the cold, freezing weather, The dry, exhaustingly hot weather. Granted, I will still need to rest and fly back down to the Earth sometimes, But I can bear it… so long as I have my wings. I can fly near the sun, feeling the warmth on its face, Gliding on Your wind that supports me… oh, the joy! Oh the bliss! I’m sick of it. Sick of scavenging for food, Sick of running, of trudging, Of fighting, of barely pulling myself out of the forests of death, All because I am limited to my feet here on the Earth. I’m tired of being limited on the ground, I want to fly, fly, fly...closer to you, God. I can’t wait for the Beautiful and Wonderful Transformation… No longer: God, Grant me my Wings. I want to fly, where the sky is so free and clear. Oh, the joy! I can sail just above the oceans, gliding my hand across the waters. I can soar through those forests, swerving and dodging those hellish animals. I can fly down in the lowest valleys, fleeing quickly when trouble arises. So God, this is my prayer: Grant me my wings. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. Isaiah 40:30-31 (NIV) Jared Jones is a sophomore intending to concentrate in English. 9