Healthy Birds Fly

This morning I caught the replay of my dear friend, Tommi’s “Thought for the Day.” Like so many of you, this was a tough week for her. She just dropped off her only son at college. I well remember crying all the way home after dropping the girls off at Freed-Hardeman. While it was hard when Susan left home, and we became “empty nesters,” I think it was more difficult when Dianne left because it meant that our close family of four who saw each other every day, ate together and prayed together was no more. That empty seat at the table hurt. Even if your children are still young and living at home, things change when they go back to school. But – someone told Tommi something that helped her, and I just love the thought. It was simply, “Healthy birds fly.”

Think about that. We have very determined birds that insist on building a nest each year on the light fixture of our deck. I can see the nest from my recliner. The nest is carefully made. The eggs are protected from the elements. When the babies are born, the parents fly back and forth continually, making sure that they are fed well. Then, the day comes when the babies leave the nest. You know, that’s what healthy birds do – they fly. They weren’t meant to stay in the nest, being fed by their parents all of their lives. They were born to grow strong enough so that they could take care of themselves, and one day, take care of little ones of their own.

Parents, our children were given to us for a limited time. Our job was to protect, teach, and nourish until the time comes when they are healthy and strong enough to fly on their own. They were not meant to stay in the nest – is that what we really want? Of course not, we want to watch them fly while at the same time, we want them to be aware that the nest is still here when they need a place to land.

God did the same for His children. He gave us the opportunity to “choose Whom we will serve.” Study, prayer, and fellowship with our brothers and sisters in Christ will make us stronger. It will make us “healthy,” so we can fly because “healthy birds fly.” How strong are your wings? Simply blessed, Courtney