As children of God, our divine nature gives us the potential to fly spiritually. We may, however, make the mistake of measuring our progress the way I initially measured the progress of the reluctant baby dove with the progress of its sibling. When we compare our spiritual efforts to others we consider more valiant, we may think we are not making progress.
Cristian Gabriel Iraheta Portillo, "Finding the Strength and Courage to Fly", New Era, October 2020
In this talk, Christian talks about baby doves who are learning to fly so they can go around with their mother. The first one took off immediately without hesitation. The second, he was scared. All he could do is watch his mother and sister fly around from the safety of his nest.
He didn't even try to fly at first. Eventually, he did but ended up on the ground. After walking around, he tried again. Finally, he took off flying.
Sometimes, we tend to compare ourselves with somebody we deem as spiritually strong or someone we want to emulate, like the baby dove who started flying immediately, as all we can do is watch from the safety of our nest.
Even, after trying to take off spiritually, we end up falling and walking around. But....eventually, we do take off. So, persistence and patience is necessary.
First off, we cannot compare our progress with others who seem to have it all together. Most often, the outside appearance is much different than what's going on internally anyway.
Secondly, there is only One who we should watch and emulate and strive to be like. That is our Brother, Jesus Christ. He doesn't just take off flying around, He helps us learn to fly, then lifts us until we do. Even after finally taking off, He flies with us every step of the way.