Ezekiel: Son of man, can these bones live?
Season 11 begins.
I tend to write about 3 things. God, Family and Falconry. Sometimes it’s a combo. This is one of those times.
There is an element of Falconry that feels sacred to me. So many aspects of the relationship between the falconer and the falcon remind me of MY relationship to God. Today is one of those sacred moments.
You take something from the wild, you care for it, build a relationship based on trust with it. You love it. Knowing that that creature will always be wild, yet it will respond to you.
It will learn the sound of your voice. It will follow you. You will bond and become one. The Falconer and the Falcon.
Yet it is still wild. Still prone to fly away.
Today marks the beginning of my 11th season. In the past I have named my birds after they were caught. Elijah, Elisha, Delilah, Rahab the Harlot, Mary, Lazarus, Jonah the Reluctant Preacher. Then there was Samson and Gabriel my two American Kestrels. You see the pattern.
This year, I have known this bird’s name for a few months now. He has been in my mind. His name and his story whispered in my ear.
Today as I sat on the side of a Toombs County road, I watched this bird on a power line pole looking down at my falconry bai-chatri trap and I whispered a prayer, “God it’s up to you” and then I whispered the name that has been calling out to me for a few months now.
“Ezekiel”
“The hand of the Lord was on me. He led me back and forth in a valley full of bones. He asked me, “Son of man, can these bones live?”
I said, “Sovereign Lord, you alone know.””
Ezekiel comes to us this year with the promise of a story. A story of bones coming back to life.
Today, the beginning of Season 11 feels like a sacred day.
I look forward to you joining me.