This was shared with me, because God knew exactly what I needed to hear, and he had the patience to wait for me to accept his words.

My friend told me the story of an eagle. At 40 years old, the eagle faces a life-or-death choice. Its talons have grown too long and curved — they can no longer grasp prey. Its beak becomes too bent — it can’t tear food. Its chest and wing feathers are too heavy — they make flight nearly impossible.

Now the eagle has only two options: die… or endure a long, painful transformation.

It retreats to the highest mountain top. There, it begins the brutal process of rebirth.

It smashes its beak against a rock until it breaks off. Then it waits. Slowly, painfully, a new beak grows. With that beak, it pulls out its old talons — one by one. And once those regrow, the eagle uses them to rip out the heavy feathers from its chest and wings.

150 days of struggle. Pain. Isolation. Silence. It was a time of darkness and uncertainty, but the eagle remained resolute in its determination to be reborn.

But when the process is over — it soars again, higher and stronger than ever.

Reborn.

Free.

And it lives on… for another 30 years.

Change often comes with fear, discomfort, even heartbreak. But clinging to what no longer serves us, old habits, toxic patterns, outdated beliefs, weighs us down. Only when we release the burden of the past can we rise into the future. The pain of transformation is real but so is the power of rebirth.

I feel like I have been struggling with myself for a while now, not letting go of things I cannot do anymore; whether it be because of physical hindrances, age, or ‘old self’ habits, I can’t focus on what I can do. If I start to try to things I might be able to do, thoughts of doubt take over new thoughts. That’s because I’m still holding onto the weight of what I can’t do, to really let God take over what I can do in His will.

So let me ask God, to please put his hand on my thoughts, because in His will, I can do great things. I can focus on the new that he brings to my life.