The Valley of Eagles

Isa 40:31 Those who trust in the LORD for help will find their strength renewed. They will rise on wings like eagles; they will run and not get weary; they will walk and not grow weak.

And yet we all grow old and we do get weary.

As Charles Aznavour sang:

Yesterday when I was young
The taste of life was sweet as rain upon my tongue
I teased at life as if it were a foolish game
The way the evening breeze may tease a candle flame

The thousand dreams I dreamed, the splendid things I planned
I always built, alas, on weak and shifting sand
I lived by night and shunned the naked light of day
And only now I see how the years ran away



And on our journey, people fall by the wayside, those who are strangers, those who are friends, and those whom we loved. For me, this time of year especially, when I lost Annie is a time of memory and grief. To use the words of Aznavour again, in "C'est fini":

I can't detach my eyes of your face
And I can't stop thinking about tomorrow
Which is already like a bad storm
Which will wash our laughters
In the water of my sorrows

My heart is torn
And I hate to understand
That the words you utter
All Want to say "goodbye"
I look without seeing
I listen without hearing
Grief surprises me
Silent stands up



Last week's Doctor Who also dealt with grief in a mature way, and while the children no doubt appreciated the monsters, it was the very poignant funeral oration at the end that I found wonderful, heartfelt, and true:

GRAHAM: Lots of you knew Grace longer than me, so I can't stand here and pretend to know everything about her. I wasn't her first husband, but she said I would do for a second attempt. I can only tell you about the Grace I met, when I thought I didn't have much time left. The... the Grace that showed me life had more to offer, and... And I know if she was here now, she'd tell us not to be so sad. You see, I can hear her saying to me, Graham, we had three glorious years, what're you complaining about? I'm complaining because I wanted more. You see, Grace was a better person than I could ever be. And I should have gone and... Grace should still be here.

[Outside Ryan's home]

DOCTOR: What did you mean in your speech, you thought you'd run out of time?

GRAHAM: Oh, well, er, I had cancer and er... Well, strictly speaking, I'm still in remission, three years gone. And Grace was my chemo nurse. That's where we met and fell in love. So by rights, I shouldn't even be here.

YASMIN: Have you got family?

DOCTOR: No. Lost them a long time ago.

RYAN: How do you cope with that?

DOCTOR: I carry them with me. What they would've thought and said and done. I make them a part of who I am. So even though they're gone from the world, they're never gone from me.

GRAHAM: That's the sort of thing Grace would have said.

How do we cope with grief? We can either bury the grief, pretend it doesn't happen, lock it in a box, or we can carry those we loved with us, as the Doctor says here. And this is not the first time we have been reminded of memory and grief:



DOCTOR: You miss him very much, don't you?

VICTORIA: It's only when I close my eyes. I can still see him standing there, before those horrible Dalek creatures came to the house. He was a very kind man, I shall never forget him. Never.

DOCTOR: No, of course you won't. But, you know, the memory of him won't always be a sad one.

VICTORIA: I think it will. You can't understand, being so ancient.

DOCTOR: Eh?

VICTORIA: I mean old.

DOCTOR: Oh.

VICTORIA: You probably can't remember your family.

DOCTOR: Oh yes, I can when I want to. And that's the point, really. I have to really want to, to bring them back in front of my eyes. The rest of the time they sleep in my mind, and I forget. And so will you. Oh yes, you will.





In the film, "Valley of Eagles", a pastoral people live in the shadow of a mountain, and hunt with eagles because they fear the snows above. The valley is a refuge, but is under constant threat of avalanches from the mountains which overhang it. This is why the hunters hunt defend the village from wolves by hunting with eagles, not guns, and why the children in the village can never laugh or play. Fear overhangs all.

But at the end, they overcome their fear, and joy returns. The avalanche comes, and it is not as fearful as they thought. They do not die. Their hope is renewed.

This is the true meaning of Isaiah, not that our bodies and minds won't grow old, because of course they will, but that we do not let our spirit die though fear or despair. We mourn, and we ourselves will be mourned, but for now, we face the future with our spirit renewed.

Isa 40:31 Those who trust in the LORD for help will find their strength renewed. They will rise on wings like eagles; they will run and not get weary; they will walk and not grow weak.