Fly Away!

Remember when you were a child and would look up at the sky and pretend to fly away? Clouds floated gently on the wind, while changing shapes. It seemed they could lift you easily into the sky, where you would experience looking back at the earth below.

As I painted this wispiness of clouds, the words “fly away” came to my mind in song. I couldn’t remember anything about it but those two words sung over and over. I googled later, and found many songs with the words “Fly Away.” Many. So, when I tell you the one stuck in my mind was sung by John Denver, you may equate that with my Boomer age.

For the past two years, I have been obsessed with watching the sky on this Texas Prairie. It’s so different each day. This time, the shadow of a cloud and the bright light, cast on the horizon, caught my attention just long enough to snap a photo for studio reference. The painting of the “cloud dance” continued for weeks as I changed them with as much undetermined shape as they change themselves. But as all paintings come to an end, I finally made myself put down the brush and back away, continuing to ponder how one’s spirit can fly away.

I remembered that it was the light on the earth that attracted me to this scene. And perhaps, that is the reminder for me. While it seems easier to “fly away,” avoiding all of the problems of today, the earth is our home for now. We are here to care for it and its inhabitants. We are here to be light, to love, to guide, to encourage, to teach, and to support. I need to work on letting the worries fly away, casting my burdens to God, trusting that He cares for us.

And I’m reminded of that other Fly Away song that the old timers always requested at Sunday Night Hymn Pick — I’ll Fly Away. “…And when I die, Hallelujah, By and By, I’ll Fly Away.”