Julie Lavender

CONSIDER THE CANADA GOOSE
by Julie Lavender

The first time I saw a Canada goose, I was way way above the Mason Dixon Line. One of the first times my range had extended that far.

Canada geese – adaptable, majestic-looking with their black head sitting atop a long black neck contrasted by a stark white chinstrap band – are now found in every contiguous state in the United States and Canada province at one season of the year or another.

However, that wasn’t the case several decades ago, before they began migrating as far as my little corner of the world, south-Georgia. When I was a little girl, I’d only seen Canada geese in books or on television.

Of course, there was much I’d only seen on television.

Cozy, but meager, nest

One of four in a farming family with meager funds, I didn’t have the opportunity to travel and had barely left the county of my residence by the time I graduated college on a grant for those of us that couldn’t afford to pay out of pocket.

But that television that only picked up three networks if the antenna was pointed in the right direction brought the world to me on Sunday afternoons when Marlin Perkins of Wild Kingdom shared God’s big beautiful globe with me, one magnificent creation, one new location at a time.

I’d always dreamed of traveling, silently, but never thought it was possible.

Yet God heard the desires of my heart, and, in somewhat of a paradoxical way, He sent me on a migration all across the United States. You see, my high school sweetheart, the one I dated all through college and married after graduation, decided to join the Navy after we both completed our Masters Degrees.

The problem was, I didn’t think God understood that I only dreamed of traveling ….sightseeing….visiting …. and then coming back home where my extended family lived. Migrating for long periods of time wasn’t part of my plan.

But, wait, God..... 

I wasn’t thrilled when David signed the dotted line for Uncle Sam, but, with God’s help, eventually accepted His flight plan for our new life.

That’s how I found myself gazing at Canada geese for the very first time in my mid-twenties. David spent six weeks in Rhode Island for Officer Indoctrination School, and I’d flown up half-way through that time to spend the weekend with him.

I thought they were even more stunning in person, face to face … well, nose to beak.

God's majestic goose

My biologist husband reminded me when the group I watched spread their wings and took flight that they travel thousands of miles to migrate and once they get high in the air, form an aerodynamic, V-pattern to travel more efficiently.

The goose in front drops back and trades out with another goose eventually so that no fowl tires unnecessarily. And the geese in the back honk incessantly, either for encouragement to those ahead or to squawk, ‘Don’t forget about me in the back.’ Biologists don’t know for sure – they don’t actually speak goose.

And the favorite bit of goose trivia he told me, in case I ever appear on a game show, was that Canada geese mate for life. That was nice for this fairly-newlywed-at-the-time to hear.

Navy. It's not just a job. It's an ADVENTURE.

Something about seeing those geese on that brief weekend with my husband – the first time I’d seen that particular masterpiece from my Creator – helped me not only accept my new flight plan, but helped me see it as an adventure. An opportunity to explore more of God’s beautiful world that I had only dreamed of seeing as a child.

The Canada goose became my own personal symbol of adventure. At the time, I didn’t realize they’d eventually change their migrations to become so ubiquitous that I’d see them in many locations, so I was always pleasantly surprised when I caught a glimpse of their majestic V-shaped formations or heard their tireless, raspy honking sounds, or watched them swim across a pond.

Our migration as a Navy family took us first to Jacksonville, Florida, where I watched helicopters and P-3s fly over my base home and I visited zoos and museums for the first time. I visited my husband in Barbados – an island I didn’t even know existed – and swam in new waters.

I stood in two hemispheres at one time when I straddled the equator in Quito, Ecuador and gazed at Andes Mountains and Mestizo families.

The next migration, Camp LeJeune, North Carolina, added an Israel stamp to my passport, Puerto Rico memories to the scrapbook, and two Lavender goslings to our nest.

Back to Jacksonville added a third gosling, and the five of us winged our way next to Quantico, Virginia. The kids and I spent most of that homeschooling year on field trips to Washington, D.C.

Our longest migration sent us from one side of the country to the other, and we landed in Oceanside, California. Our fourth and last gosling arrived on the west coast.

New landscapes for me – the Pacific Ocean, redwoods and giant Sequoyahs, Death Valley, Hollywood and Disneyland – God’s world is huge and vast.

And new creations – tarantulas and tumbleweeds and Orcas ….. oh my!

Poulsbo,Washington duty station brought earthquake and Hoh Rainforest adventures, Seattle and seaplane exploits, and sleigh rides and ferryboat traverses.   

One last duty station, back to Jacksonville, Florida, and our migration was complete. My husband retired from the Navy and took a wildlife biologist job at an army base near our hometown of Statesboro, Georgia.

I’d dreamed of traveling as a kid, but I saw it as a Sunday afternoon, Marlin Perkins episode, and then returning home.

His plans are best

 

God had different plans, and it was a magnificent journey. A wonderful migration.

A migration higher than I'd ever dreamed. 

His plans are always best.

       

What about you? Did you have ideas and plans for your life that turned out quite differently than you'd originally thought?

How did you see God's Hand in that new flight plan?

Comment below and tell me about some of the migrations in your life's journey. I'd love to hear about YOUR adventures!!!