They Leave the Nest -- But They'll Be Back

They Leave the Nest -- But They'll Be Back
For those who have followed the tales of my dove family who took up occupancy on my fireplace vent on my patio several weeks ago, I'm pleased to report the babies are on their own and have left the nest. I couldn't check on them until Monday morning since I had been away for a week and didn't get home until Sunday night. The nest was empty so I knew they had finally learned to fly and had left the nest. I saw the poop and debris left behind and determined to get out my super-powered cleaning solution and remove the nest and all the other gunk. But to my surprise, as I sat on my patio, I saw the "teenagers" (Yikes! I was surprised to see, how in just a week's time, they had grown so much!) come back home. I'm acting like a proud grandmother because I couldn't help but show you their photo! LOL! They must have remembered the kind homeowner who checked on them daily, and they were fine with my visit. I am unceasingly amazed at God’s creation.

Of course, the spiritual and natural connotations hit me in these tender moments. All of us develop, mature and become confident enough to leave the "nest" where we were nurtured and where we developed the sense of being able to make it in this world on our own. Maybe it was when we went to college or joined the armed forces, or got married, or were simply ready to tackle the world on our own. But, like those birds, many of us enjoy going back home for a while. We need that cozy, warm, safe place where we didn't have to make our own way. There were hugs and cheers and encouragement when we went home, and for many of us, we needed much more than just a short visit, we needed to stay a while and regroup and rethink where we'd go from here. We needed to get our confidence back.

Our relationship with God is similar to the birds AND us returning to our nests. Oftentimes, we're strong, making it just fine on our own, handling life and all that it throws at us. But then there are those times of disappointment, discouragement, fear and these strong spiritual beings find ourselves languishing and we need a pep talk and a shoulder to cry on and the familiarity of someone we love and trust to wrap their arms around us and tell us "Everything's gonna be alright!" We can count on our loving Father every time for that assurance, but after a little coddling, He gives us a nudge out the door (or the nest) to resume as the strong, determined, full-of-faith children He raised us to be. St. Paul said it like this: "When I was a child, I spoke and thought and reasoned as a child. But when I grew up, I put away childish things." 1 Corinthians 13:11

God gave us everything we need to be strong, mature, powerful and empowered overcomers in this life. He gave us every tool, every promise, every key we need for success through the cross of Christ and His Word. Romans 8:29 says "But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us." God lovingly welcomes us to return to His nest when we need a refresher on how much He loves and cares for us, but His Gospel message brings more than good news to us. It bids us to fly AND it gives us wings to do so!

Time to be an EMPTY NESTER!

Day 180 of Photo Inspirations -- Time to be an EMPTY NESTER!
Two weeks ago I told you about a beautiful cardinal perched on my fence and was inspired that he came to bring me joy and excitement – my family was coming in town that night.  A week letter, I came home to find he was there for his own family.  A nest had been built in my crepe myrtle and it contained two itsy bitty cardinal babies. Daily, since then, I’ve gone to take a little peek of the little darlings.  It’s amazing how quickly they grew.  I knew this would be the week that they would be out on their own.  This first photo is day before yesterday when they were still cozy in the nest.

And yesterday, I saw Mr. Cardinal perched at the very top of this tree – almost in glorious pride shouting out….. “My babies have left the nest!”  The next photo is Mrs. Cardinal on the column with baby cardinal on the ground fledgling around.  It wasn’t long before the twins had taken flight.  And all that’s left is this last photo taken today …… of the empty nest.  I’m quite sure that Mr. Cardinal is strutting around, beak and head crest held high, giving high fives to Mrs. Cardinal and shouting to the world, in the words of Dora the Explorer… “We did it! We did it!”

I’ve been amazed as I watched the instincts of these birds. And, while those instincts are given to them at birth, it took encouragement and motivation by Mom & Dad Cardinal to help them reach their full potential to spread their wings and fly.   It's increible how quickly these little birds went from ibeing inside of an egg, to emerging as little birds and being fed by their parents, and then being encouraged to jump from the nest and now flying -- especially when we consider us.  It takes 18+ years for our kids to take flight.

Do you remember bringing your new baby home from the hospital?  I didn’t sleep a wink that night. I kept checking to see if he was breathing. We made it through those days to sheer joy as we watched his many "firsts"-- his first smile, his first laugh-out-loud, his first time to rollover, the first time he sat up, the first time he crawled and the first time he walked.

Remember walking?   My husband would be on one side holding him up, while I stood across from him -- holding out my arms with a toy or food to motivate him to step out on his own.  It didn’t work the first time.  He’d fall down, and Daddy would help him up again, and with the same process over and over again, our little guy eventually ventured across to me.  That’s what the Mama bird did.  That little baby bird had to be coaxed to leave the nest – and it was probably for food.  Mama bird probably withheld food from him, and He was hungry and he knew he had to leave the nest to get it.  I watched those little birds fledgling around and soon the whole family had taken wing and flown away.

I could compare this all to those Moms and Dads who are going through the challenging “empty nest syndromes”.  You may be taking your baby to pre-school for the first time this year and there are those who will be taking your baby to college for the first time this year.  Yes, probably there will be tears – whether it is pre-school or college, but, oh, such good tears.  Tears of the memories of the first steps, the first camp-out, the first time they drove, the first girl or boy friend…..and now the first time out on their own.  You’ve done what you were created to do…..bring those precious babies into this world, encourage them to grow up and encourage them to leave the nest.  It’s the cycle of life – and you are equipped to handle it – so much so that you can sing along with Dora the Explorer, too.  Go ahead – give your spouse and friends and family big High 5’s and pat yourselves on the back and say "We did it!  We did it!"