On Eagles Wings

On Eagles Wings Was Penned & Compiled by Peter O'Neill

Because...
Sometimes...
Honestly...
Life Can Be
Tough

And... 
Tough Times...
Either Make Us

The Key To Becoming Better & Not Bitter... 

Is To Spiritually Rise Above Your Foe... Your Problem... Your Adversity.  Take The High Road... Emulate How The Eagle Rises Above It's Earthly Bounds... How It Uses The Forceful Winds To Fly... How It Turns A Potential Problem Into A Permanent Solution. That's The Key To The Eagle's Strength, Power & Victory. ...Be The Eagle... 

We All Have Our Own
Heart Wrenching Battles,
Trials & Tribulations

   We’ve all had things happen to us that seemed unfair or so tragic that we didn’t see how it could be the hand of a loving God working in our lives, but invariably if you give it time... you always see that there was a reason and a purpose. In the end God Always Wins… He takes what seems like the most unfair event of our lives and turns it with meaning, purpose and determination for our good.  

Heartbreak To Destiny

     When I was a young missionary in Mexico we had a booming work that was affecting people all across the country. We were inspiring other missionaries from the US to come and help build a real movement... it was thrilling and exciting and just the cats pajamas. I’d given up a good life and left behind riches and wealth and ease, but it was worth it all, because I could see this beautiful work being born… lives being changed… hope and faith touching many, many souls. It was great. But...

I Walked A Mile With Laughter 
And She Chattered All The Way
And Never A Thing Learned I from Her
For All She Had To Say

I Walked a Mile With Sadness
And Never A Word Said She
But Oh The Things I Learned That Day
That Sorrow Walked With Me

     Then, at the point when it looked like we would explode and have a major impact on the whole country… at that pivotal point, my wife who was absolutely not in it for the mission or the Lord, decided that she had had enough and left to return to the US and forsook our  agreed on mission field for the money and ease back in the USA. No matter what I did... (even offering to give up the work and go back with her) could make any difference. She knew I was committed to the Lord and always would be and she just didn't want to have any part of it... and so she left. It absolutely crushed me and I went into a one year tailspin and everything just seemed to crash. (Nothing against her… I just had made the huge mistake in my youthful naivety of marrying someone who didn't love the Lord... & though very sweet, had no desire or intention of being a missionary.) 

Was It A Huge Mistake
Or Did God Have A Purpose?

     The end of the Story is Victorious. God raised up another wonderful family to keep the work going and growing in Mexico and he Opened doors for me to help Pioneer and Open Up China to hundreds of other missionaries and to help bring the gospel to the Billion + people there. God had a plan and a purpose… and a reason. It was one of the greatest things I would ever do… (going into China in 1981 to help start the work there) but it would have never happened, if I hadn’t of gone through that horrible heartbreak and seeming terrible injustice.

It Was Not A Mistake

Don't ever Doubt or Belittle or Question what God is doing in your life. There is a plan and a purpose and a reason. All things do work together for good to those that love the Lord! Rom 8:28

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Consider... These Faithful Folks...
Who Rose On Eagles Wings
The Steven Curtis Chapman Family

On Eagles Wings Copyright © 21st Century Christianity - Christian Stories, January 2012

In a tragic car accident 5 yr old Maria Sue was killed. Steven along with his whole family were crushed and just distraught. It was at that most heartbreaking of times that he turned his Heart Upward for Hope and Faith to Live. God Gave Him The Following Beautiful Song and a Wonderful Ministry to reach Out and Touch The World With The Reality of Heaven That Awaits.

The One Thing Steven Wants To See When He Gets Home To Heaven Is His Little Maria Sue... This Beautiful Song is the Result of that Heart Cry.

We've All Gotta Remember That...

On Eagles Wings Copyright © 21st Century Christianity - Christian Stories, January 2012

No matter what the problem, difficulty or hardship. No matter how unfair it seems... no matter how unrighteous... no matter what... GOD ALWAYS GETS THE VICTORY IN THE END! 

Many an Athiest have posted pictures saying... 
"If There Was A God" would he allow...

This...

On Eagles Wings Copyright © 21st Century Christianity - Christian Stories, January 2012

Or This...

On Eagles Wings Copyright © 21st Century Christianity - Christian Stories, January 2012

Or This...

The Problem Is... They Are Asking The Wrong Question

Because The Right Question Is...

Will God Overcome All Of The Evil...
Will God Make It All Right...
In The End?

And The Answer To That Is...

On Eagles Wings Copyright © 21st Century Christianity - Christian Stories, January 2012

If It Takes All Eternity
The Lord Will Make It Right
He Will Bring Beauty From The Ashes
& Heartache... Trials & Tribulation!
He Is Faithful!

,

On Eagles Wings Copyright © 21st Century Christianity - Christian Stories, January 2012

To Make Me...
He Had To Break Me

12 Years ago I was driving home after a long day, with my 4 children (then 12, 5, 3 & 1 yrs old). A neighbor was stuck on the side of the mountain road in the ditch and as has been our custom we stopped to help. I called the fellow that works at the post office and grabbed one of the farmers who was driving by and proceeded to organize the excavation of the small car. The neighbor a dense witted nervous young man refused to let us do what we always did in this situation (about 3 times a month) which was just pick up the little car by hand and put it back on the road (small Japanese 500 CC car).

Anyway to make a long story short... unable to do as we planned I jumped down from my leverage point above the bumper and in the pitch black of night the neighbor shoved the car jack right down on where I was going to land. I hit it full force and shattered my Ankle and the 5th metatarsal in my foot.

     It was extremely serious and being over worked, over weight and out of shape and in poor health generally. This was huge. Suddenly my 16 hour workdays came to an end, but also it meant that all our income stopped. How could the Lord let this happen... here I was trying to help this guy and look what I got. In the following weeks the doctors gave me disheartening news that this kind of break was so serious that... considering my age... my weight... and the severity of the break... I would probably never walk again or at best with a cane or crutches.

To make it all worse the parents of the guy who I was trying to help came over to tell me that the accident was my own fault and I was stupid for having gotten involved. 

It Looked Like Disaster All The Way Round

BUT...

As it so happened... on that night... at almost the same hour, a drunk man fell on the train tracks in Tokyo and a young Korean Christian (Lee Soo-hyun) jumped down on the tracks to save the man... sadly the young Korean died in the effort. On the same evening... another drunk man fell on the tracks on the other side of Tokyo and another foreign Christian jumped down onto the tracks to save him and they both perished. It was front page news. Both parties were commended by the Emperor for their heroic acts and suddenly Christians helping others was in style. 

On Eagles Wings Copyright © 21st Century Christianity - Christian Stories, January 2012

Click Here to see the Full Story of the Christian Boy (Lee Soo-hyun) Who Died trying to save the Drunk on the tracks.

     Someone told a newspaper about what had happened to me and out of no where our little weekly acts of kindness to help others became a big deal. The Hotel Company I worked with agreed to rehire me to Pastor Weddings again... (if I could walk) and over all there was suddenly hope in the air. 

     It didn't lesson the pain or the heartbreak, but it was a good witness and it made it all seem worth while. The one thing it did was convict people that giving and helping others was the right thing to do... regardless of the cost. 

     After they took the cast off I could see the doctors point. My leg, now badly bent and deformed... couldn't take hardly any weight or pressure, but we prayed... actually it was my wife Atsuko who prayed and she claimed that the bird whose pinion was broken... would... by the grace of God... fly even higher than before. The Lord gave me the faith to try and to do what I could. At first each step was agonizing pain... 5 feet would have me in tears, but the next time I would go 6... then 10... then 15. Everyday a bit more... at first with crutches then just the cane. 50 meters... 60 meters... 100 meters. I'll never forget that as I sat at the bottom of the mountain by my house, God told me that when I could make the top of the mountain 1.2 Kilometers that I would be healed. Every day more and more. Blood vessels popping out... pain to where I would just scream, but God gave me the heart to keep going and on the 1 year anniversary of the accident... without cain or crutches... just me and God... I made that mountain top. 

Tears Rolling Down My Face, But Not Just Tears of Pain, But Thankful Tears That The Lord Had Brought Me Back And Given Me The Victory

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There's More To That Story
But Back To Our Main Point

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In The End
God Will Win The Victory
Overcome Every Wrong
&
Right Every Injustice

We Will Run & Not Be Weary and We Will Rise On Eagles Wings. Nothing Can Supersede That Destiny! NOTHING... not even Death. Though It Looks Like Our Greatest Defeat... It Will Be Our Ultimate Victory. Having Done Everything We Can Do... When God Takes Us Home... We Are Winners...  because after that... WE ARE GOING TO RISE... and Then Rule & Reign With Him Forever! As Sure as the rains fall and the wind blows... It Is Our God Gifted Heavenly Destiny!

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So If Things Are Going South...

So If Things Are Going South
And You Don’t Know What To Do
And Trouble and Confusion...
Assail You Through & Through

Take A Moment To Remember
That Your Destiny Is Sure
And HE Will Never Let You Go
Yes… Nothing Could Be Truer

For When All Is Said & Done
And Every Moves Been Played
You & God Are Winners
In A Future Already Made

On Eagles Wings Copyright © 21st Century Christianity - Christian Stories, January 2012

And Now... The Rest Of The Story...

     After the above mentioned accident We went on to do 10,000 weddings and develop the largest and most influential single wedding ministry in Japan. The first wedding after I regained my ability to walk was… believe it or not… the young man whose car I was helping to excavate from the mountain road ditch, the night I broke my leg. Over 500 neighbors, family and friends attended that wedding and there wasn’t a dry eye in the house. 
     We appeared numerous times in Japanese Movies & Television dramas as the Bokushi (pastor) of the church that I actually do pastor. Dignitaries from 30 countries as well as a “Who’s Who” variety of Japanese Government Officials from every level have attended our services. On the one-year Anniversary of the March 11th Tsunami Disaster we were chosen over many top Shinto & Buddist Monks to host the Memorial service for our area. 1500 people attended. 

 From That Broken Leg & Seeming Defeat...
That One Very Heartbreaking Accident...
 We Reached Millions

     I have since climbed that mountain behind my house almost every day for the last 15 years... along with every major mountain peak in our area. I lost 50 pounds and am now in the best fighting shape of my life.

   The local golf course gave us an honorary membership and invited me over to play for free any time I want… which I have done weekly for 10 years. With coaching from my 2 older brothers in the USA I became pretty proficient and now own the low course record for an amateur, with a round of 63… shot 3 years ago.  I have 5 holes in one… one after an atheist competitor scoffed at me being a Christian and a missionary and daring God to give me a good shot on the toughest par 3 on the course. Prior to the accident I had never golfed in my life.
     My children for whom I was so fearful after the accident… have all done very well despite our very simple missionary lifestyle and income. Lisa (our oldest) after finishing collage… is now a Top Stewardess with one the Major Air Lines. James just graduated from High School and will be entering Meiji University (One of the top 3 Universities in Japan). Peter Bruce is Class President in his High School and Eddie was captain of his Jr. High sports team and doing great.

....... All's Well That Ends Well! .......

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God Does Get...
His Greatest Victories...
Out Of Seeming Defeat

If He Can Do It For Me
He Can Surely Do It For You...
On Eagles Wings

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That's It For This One Friends…

On Eagles Wings Copyright © 21st Century Christianity - Christian Stories, January 2012

On Eagles Wings Copyright © 21st Century Christianity - Christian Stories, January 2012

Leaving On Eagles Wings Page - Entering - 21st Century Christianity - Home Page

 

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On Eagles Wings Copyright © 21st Century Christianity - Christian Stories, January 2012

On Eagles Wings Copyright © 21st Century Christianity - Christian Stories, January 2012

On Eagles Wings Copyright © 21st Century Christianity - Christian Stories, January 2012