Natural Instincts

By Joyce Anderson-Reed

So I launched into an explanation about natural instincts, which--believe it or not--we had just talked about earlier that day when he asked a question about bears. I explained that an instinct is something you are born with and don’t have to be taught. That is why bears sleep in the winter or why birds know how to fly. So I told him that the lions’ natural instinct would have been to tear Daniel to pieces and eat him, but God sent angels to take away that instinct and not make them hungry for Daniel. So when Daniel said "the angels shut the lions’ mouths" it was kind of a figure of speech.

Ian looked at me and said, "Oh, so the angels took the lions’ teeth out so they couldn’t eat him?" We could see that the lions in the picture still had their teeth so I responded by saying, "God just made it so the lions didn’t eat Daniel, okay?" Ian accepted my response and I finished the story.

Afterwards, I began to reflect more about natural instincts. I remembered a conversation that I had with my Spiritual Director the month before. She asked, "What image would I use to be a beacon in my life right now?" At first, this question left me fumbling. I tend to be more word oriented than image oriented. But then I thought about wild geese. Last fall and into the winter, their haunting calls had echoed to me across the skies. The pond at the bottom of our hill was a gathering place on their journey south and our house seemed to be underneath their flight patterns. I had spent many autumn evenings sitting on the steps of our front porch, listening for their distinctive voice. It was a "Call of the Wild."

I was fascinated by their natural instinct to move on when the seasons changed-- to know when their food sources were running out, when the temperatures would no longer keep them warm, when their natural predators would be more likely to hunt them. The instinct to know when it was time to take flight, not remain comfortable in one place -- to journey towards a place they had never been, but knew would provide what they needed. They travel a route that is "well-flown". A pattern established by God himself when he created them. And they fly together, dependent on each other’s strength.

That’s what I want my life to be like. To have the common sense, the instinct to know when resources that nurture me are running low, to know when the weather changes in my relationships, to know when my predators are on the prowl. To have the wisdom to not get too comfortable in one place, otherwise I might get lazy and become easy prey. To have the courage to fly towards the unknown, but at the same time to rely on the promise that God had gone before me and mapped out the path for me to follow. And to do all of this in the company of my woman-friends. I want to be encouraged by our collective voices, by the song of our spirits wild, by the beauty of our God-given instincts.

There are still wild geese honking over my house. Their cry is a balm to my soul. Just this morning, a V of geese winged across the road in front of me and lighted in the swath of water left open by the ice. I felt as if the voice of God had just spoken directly to me. "I go before you, Joyce. I will lead you beside the quiet streams. Even when you walk through the valley of the shadow of death, fear no evil. I will be with you. My rod and my staff will comfort you."

My day was transformed. And God let me share my transformation with two other women. We sought out new sources for our support network. We identified the changing patterns in our lives. We named "the enemies" that sought to devour us. We logged new flight plans. We joined voices, and a new song took shape. Hard work, yes. Impossible, no. Not with God’s instincts to back your own.

Questions:

1. What image would I choose to be a beacon for my life right now?

2. What does this image reveal to me about myself?

3. By reflecting on this image, what wild instincts do I tap into?