A young eagle was learning to fly and in doing so leaped from the edge of a perfectly safe cliff. As he glided out over the valley, he felt the warm air rising and pushing him up into the sky. He was exhilarated, strong, confident.
But a moment later a gust came from the south that turned him back toward the cliff from which he had jumped. In that moment, he saw a tree with a long, strong limb reaching out toward him.
The young eagle thought to himself, "If I turn back now I can easily land on that long, strong limb. I'll be safe and that tree will provide protection for me while I rest. Once rested, I'll be better able to continue flying."
Then another thought occurred to him. He could imagine what his father would say, "Son, remember the story of Jonathon! He was just a seagull and he didn't turn back, and neither will you."
So the eagle carefully folded the tips of his wings and turned away from the cliff and further out into the big unknown. There will be a time for rest, but this was not it.