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!

Life Lessons From the Birds

If you follow my daily posts at all, you’ll know I seem to be fixated on birds. I’ve shared about the cardinal family that visited my home in Tulsa, who set up housekeeping (nesting) in the tree behind my bedroom window and how I liked to think that the daddy cardinal was sent by my sweetheart when I could use a little kiss from heaven. I also shared about the swallows that I wasn’t so fond of, that set up housekeeping on my front porch where I tried all kinds of tricks to get rid of them because, unfortunately, their poop wasn’t exactly the “welcoming mat” I wanted for my visitors.

I shared about the birds who, with their stealth vision, would watch for a customer leave their table at an outdoor restaurant, and would zero in on what little scraps they left in their plates. To correspond with that analogy, I used the scripture reference: Matthew 6:26 “Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?” Indeed those birds had the Father’s “royal treatment” as they only needed to hover until their prey (rather, food scraps) were wide open for their taking.

My grandson, Payton, does “handyman” jobs for people in his neighborhood. One of his customers gave him three birdhouses/feeders. He was delighted with his new aviaries, setting them up in great areas of their backyard, filling them with feed and keeping a close eye on his visitors. Before long all kinds of birds were making their home in their back yard, including this nest that would soon have eggs in it. Daily, Payton and Alexia checked their tenants' progress, but before long, they saw that, though the eggs were still there (pictured here), holes were in the sides where a predator had sucked out the contents. That little safe haven met up with very bad tidings.

Alexia, with her heart for the cardinals who had worked so hard to make their nest a protected home, proceeded to see if she could provide easy access to their building materials in case they wanted to start over again. She proceeded to take the nest apart – laying out all the materials on their outdoor table: ribbons, string, sticks, fabric and other materials. After she had it all sorted out, she exclaimed: “Come cardinals. NEST DEPOT is open for business.” LOL! Such is life with Lexi!

With all my ramblings about birds, I think we are in good company. Jesus used birds in many of his illustrated sermons to explain God’s love for us. He said in Matthew 10:29 “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father's care.” God does provide care for the sparrows, and the fact that "not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father's care" means that sometimes bad things can happen, like the cardinal eggs at the Wallace's. Although He watches over the sparrows, it doesn’t prevent them from being hunted by predators. Although He watches over every one of us, it doesn’t mean that our lives will be free from care. He even went on to say to us “…you are of more value than many sparrows" Matthew 10:31. So if God is concerned about the tiny sparrow, how much greater must His concern be for us. Bottom line, we are told to be care-less. There is no place for worry in the life of a sparrow, and they carry on. For them AND us, worry is needless, wears us out and keeps us from living our lives knowing the eyes of our Father are on us.

God's care for us is immeasurable -- He allowed His only begotten Son to die in our place (John 3:16).

God's care for us will sustain us throughout our lives, because “We know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose" (Romans 8:28)

For the birds, Alexia made a Nest Depot for their building supplies. Our place of refuge, for life's building materials and the how to's for building a rock-solid foundation is found at God's Word Depot. Maybe if we would spend more time in those aisles, we'd find all the supplies we need for a worry-free, care-free life!

I'm Going to Adventureland!

Ever felt like that little bird that was done with that not-so-cozy nest and was ready to take wing and fly away?  It may be called "restlessness".  My friend and I were visiting yesterday about willing to live out loud with no regrets -- ready to take on some adventures.  Quite frankly, I think I've become a little too comfortable where I'm at and that's why I'm saying "Yes, Lord" to wherever He wants me to go and to do whatever He wants me to do.   I know that sounds crazy -- especially since I just returned from three weeks away with my family.

In my prayer time this morning, I shared with the Lord how uncomfortable "my nest" seems to be these days. When I say "nest", I'm speaking about comfort zone -- complacency -- mediocrity -- status quo.  Each one of those words causes me to flinch.  I know that God has assignments for me to fulfill and "comfort zone" just won't cut it.  Yesterday, I spoke about Martin Luther King's undaunted determination to change his world.  "Comfort zone" wasn't even in his vocabulary.  To accomplish anything great, it shouldn't be in our vocabulary either.   Last night, Trainer Bob Harper, on The Biggest Loser show, said to the teams, "Not until you are the most uncomfortable and having to push out of your comfort zone, will you really see what you're made of."

And, don't we want to see what we are made of?  These thoughts have guided me to a new place in my prayer life.  A place where I not only ask for God's help with "life's stuff", but to focus more than ever before on my need for heavenly wisdom -- especially when I know how valuable each and every day must be.  So getting out of my comfort zone and going into my prayer zone is signficantly the best place to hang out during these times of question.

King David had such a way with words and his knack for early morning rising to seek God certainly helped him be his best.  And I've found those are my best times too -- those times when I ask my Father to speak to me, to help me, to listen, and give me insight as to what the day and the future will hold as I place my agenda into His hands.  When you and I do that, then He unfolds the plans, opens doors to spectacular adventures, and causes our steps to be on purpose.  Once we get that, then the restlessness will cease and the wide-eyed wonder of a child will run to ADVENTURELAND with all out abandonment for the thrilling rides that lie ahead!  Surely -- not a chance for boredom, complacency, or status quo there.