Four baby barn swallows peered over the edge of the mud nest on a wall in a corner of our patio, eagerly waiting for their mother to return with breakfast. I had a really good view of the feathered family from my bedroom window. “This is going to be great,” I thought. “I can watch them grow, learn to fly, and leave the nest.” Like my own empty nest, the experience would be bittersweet, but exciting.
Then I remembered the beast. Our ninety pound, yellow lab dominates the back yard. Did the baby birds have a chance against a dog that pulls trees up by the roots? Maybe it would be better for the babies to never leave the nest. The mama bird could continue to feed them. Of course the daddy bird would have to build an addition to the nest…
Two days later I stood at the bedroom window again. One baby clung to the edge of the nest and one was perched beside it on a brick that jutted out from the wall. It was time for flying lessons! Mother Swallow called to them from atop a blade of the patio ceiling fan about five feet away.
The beast lay on his side by the back door seemingly unaware of the unfolding drama. The baby on the brick hopped off into space, untested wings flapping. He dipped low, coming within eighteen inches of the ground. I held my breath. The beast slept on. Then the baby’s wings caught air and he awkwardly joined his mother on the fan blade. Whew! One down, three to go.
Within a few days, all four baby birds had successfully learned to fly. At first they only flew to the ceiling fan, then back to the nest. As the days went by they became a little more adventurous and visited the roof and the large tree beyond the patio. Then one day they were gone. The nest stayed empty. Their mother had done her job and they were on their own.
All three of our babies have tried their wings and left the nest. Even now, I worry about what could happen to them outside the nest. Will they watch out for those “big, yellow labs?”
Yet, today God brought one of His many promises to mind:
What is the price of two sparrows—one copper coin? But not a single sparrow can fall to the ground without your Father knowing it. 30 And the very hairs on your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are more valuable to God than a whole flock of sparrows. Matthew 10:29-31
Nothing happens to a single sparrow without God’s knowledge. If He cares that much for a sparrow, how much more does He care for my children? For yours? They are worth more than many sparrows.
So I’ll pray – and watch from the fan blade with squawks of encouragement.
May is a time of graduations and planning for “leavings.” Do you have someone leaving the nest soon? What promises of God do you hang onto?
We have only one child so when our baby girl left the nest to go to college we experienced flying the best and empty nest at the same time. It was overwhelmingly emotional, but as we let her spread her wings she flew gracefully. She was content to be with her new found friends and yet came back to the nest almost every weekend. In reality, is this not what we rear our children to do – fly? It is a normal right of passage into adulthood and is considered odd if they just stay in the best and look to you for sustainable life. God’s plan is perfect and His ways are too.
Hi Janet! And even as adults, they still come back to our “nest” periodically. And they bring their own babies with them!