What is your definition of perfection?  Is there any place that could be described as a eutopia?  Having spent a week in Hawaii, I believe I might have discovered heaven on earth. 

Picture an 85-degree day.  Not too hot.  Certainly not cold.  A cool breeze blows off the bluest ocean you’ve ever seen.  The Pacific.  Your skin welcomes the sun, and just when you feel it beginning to get too warm, a white cloud blankets the rays.  In no time at all, a light rain can fall from the sky, cooling your skin. 

God is orchestrating this masterpiece before your very eyes.  He knows everything you need.  He blesses you with moments to bask in the sun’s rays and moments to allow your skin to be cooled by rain.  It rains every day in Hawaii.  You never know what you will find as you stare up at the picturesque mountains above you, but you do know this … it is always perfect. 

I think the Lord knew I needed something like this to get my mind off my problems.  Maybe it is time I come clean.  The day before I left for Hawaii, I resigned from my teaching position.  It was the right move.  And when God closes one door, guess what happens?  He opens another.  I am still unsure of what that new door is, but I am anxious to find out when He chooses to reveal it to me.

In the meantime, I need to reflect.  Writing one blog about Hawaii would not do it justice.  I am unsure how many days I will be writing about the experience.  All I know is that I smile as I look back on the memories.  Memories that begin with the birds. 

Birds?  Yes, the birds.

When you arrive in Hawaii, you realize everything is open.  Restaurants.  Hotel lobbies.  Shops.  The Hawaiians know the weather is so perfect that they allow it to flow through everything.  And with the freedom of the open air, guess who takes advantage of that?  Yep.  You guessed it.  The birds!

When you sit down to an all-you-can-eat breakfast buffet, you get your money’s worth.  My plate was heaped with grilled salmon, fresh pineapple, savory wild rice, and a piping hot omelet, stuffed with peppers, mushrooms, onions, and oozing cheddar cheese. 

Was it any wonder why I gained five pounds?  Hey, diet starts Monday.  Crud … it IS Monday!

Your eyes are always bigger than your stomach, however.  You never seem to find room to stuff yourself with that extra cupcake you thought you could devour.  The clock is ticking.  You want to be able to walk to the ocean and even play in the waves a bit without having to hold your aching belly.  Therefore, you wave goodbye to that half-eaten sprinkled chocolate cupcake and depart for some fun.

That, my friends, is when the birds take over. 

They swoop in from all angles, perching on nearby stone walls.  They dance around at your feet.  The chorus they sing is that of the Pied Piper, calling all birds to feast upon free leftover food.  That is when you notice the sign the hotel restaurant has placed on a nearby wall …

DO NOT FEED THE BIRDS!

Whoops.  Well, I didn’t mean to.  Can I help it if I wanted to actually walk away from the table as opposed to be carted off?  I tried stuffing my mouth with my wife’s leftover slices of steak.  You can only hold so much!  Problem solved.  The birds take care of your leftovers. 

They are bold little boogers.  I watched one guy take his napkin and whip it at the bird that was eyeing his eggs benedict.  Just like a teenage boy whipping his towel after gym class.  The bird dodged his feeble attempt to rid the scene of flying feathers.  I am pretty sure I saw its beak curl into a smile. 

And don’t you know that kids all over are reading that sign, saying to themselves, “Oh, yes!  I will feed these birds!  Because I am a kid, and I can get away with it!  And it is fun to see them swoop down to eat my leftover fries!” 

The squawking.  The scavenging.  The sheer joy of finding free food!  Now you understand what Jesus was talking about in Matthew 6:26 when He says, “Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are?” 

My wife captured one of these moments on her smartphone.  We were bathing in the sun, watching our boys frolic in the swimming pool, when a bird dove in, landing right on the white beach towel covering her toes.  It stayed there, jerking its little head from side to side.  Long enough for my wife to turn her camera on and snap a memorable photograph. Yep, the glorious picture above.

I love that bird!  It didn’t fear a thing.  It boldly did what no bird had done before, and it was celebrated by that picture.  Until my wife got creeped out and kicked it away.  I wonder if Alfred Hitchcock visited Hawaii to be inspired to create his masterpiece, The Birds. 

Christians likewise have a calling to boldly proclaim their faith.  Romans 1:16 reminds us, “For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes—the Jew first and also the Gentile.”  Christ followers are unflappable in the face of adversity.  Why?  Because they boldly believe in the power of Jesus. 

Peter and John knew of this power.  They had been arrested by the Sadducees for proclaiming Jesus rose from the dead.  But they couldn’t turn their backs on the Son of God.  They continued teaching what they had seen and heard.  They stared possible death in the eye and never flinched.  The end result was astounding. 

“And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with BOLDNESS.” (Acts 4:31)

Did you catch that?  How did Peter and John persevere through this?  It was through prayer.  Through faith.  Through hope that the Holy Spirit could drive out any danger before them.  The enemy had no answer for that boldness. 

How can you be bold today?  What is God asking you to do in His name?  Maybe you have a relationship to mend.  Or a stranger to reach out to.  Or a hard question to ask someone.  Whatever your charge may be, do not balk.  Do not waver.  Do it with boldness!