Birds of Hope (Intern Insights)
“I listened to Women of Hope and you talked about birds flying by forming a “V”. This picture touched me because we, women, should learn to stand united in hardship.”
This thought came from a Côte d’Ivoire listener in West Africa, and the imagery described just touches my heart. Birds, what a beautiful analogy. I have fond memories of them from my childhood. In fact, my first word believe it or not was “birdie”. At my Grammy’s house on bright, summer days I used to spend much of my time outside. In the midst of playing I would stop in the driveway and just gaze up at the blue sky, completely captivated by the exquisite way in which the birds would flock together, never breaking formation. My childhood curiosity was utterly peaked. How are they doing that? Do they have to practice? What if one messes up? And as if in answer to my internal ponderings, it never failed that occasionally one lone bird would indeed fly away from the pack, leaving its designated spot in line.
What was amazing, though, was how quickly the flock would swoop back around and allow it to join formation again. As if the bird never left in the first place, perfect unity was restored. Reading the Women of Hope testimony above, it just makes sense. Like God designed those little creatures and their patterns of flight to serve as a reminder to me on this bright, summer day, years later.
These programs teach listeners to fly like those birds and to unwaveringly follow the path God has set before each of us. It’s crucial for our spiritual walk that women support one another, return to help those who have fallen astray, and continue flying as one, cohesive group. Life can be hard, I know. We face difficult times and leave the flock, abandon what we know to be true. Yet through the joys and even amidst the heartache, strength in Christ remains. We can do all things through Him, and as sisters in Christ we must stand united in this truth.
Let’s pray today that God would continue to use Project Hannah and Women of Hope programs around the world to encourage and teach women. Let’s pray that He would strengthen females everywhere to stand firm in their beliefs and to fly together.