Help Them Fly

"Time for me to fly,

I've got to set myself free.

Time for me to fly,

that's just how its' got to be.

I know it hurts to say goodbye,

but it's time for me to fly."

-- REO Speedwagon

The bird's nest outside my office window is empty now.  For the past several weeks, I've watched as the mother bird created the nest, straw by straw, and sat patiently while laying and nurturing her eggs until they hatched.  Three baby birds, helpless in their nest, depending on their mama to help them grow, until one day they can fly off on their own.  Today, they were gone.

Sweet irony.  So many moms I know are seeing their babies leave the nest too -- and are struggling with the bittersweet goodbye.  Somehow 18 years just doesn't seem enough.  Being a mom is a big part of who we are.  Just like the baby birds who sat for hours with mouths wide open, waiting for mom to bring back the morsels that would help them grow, our children too depended on us.  After all, we had the magic eyes to find their lost favorite shirt, the hugs to soothe their hurts, the wisdom to nurture their spirit, and the smile to reassure them that, no matter what life dealt, mom will always love them and be their number one fan.  They kept returning home to us until that day.....that wonderful, yet difficult day when nature tells them, just as it does little birds, that it's time to fly away.

Consider the Lilies

Shug: More than anything God love admiration.  Celie: You saying God is vain?   Shug: No, not vain, just wanting to share a good thing. I think it pisses God off when you walk by the color purple in a field and don't notice it.  --The Color Purple, by Alice Walker

I love road trips.  I love them because I love seeing the beauty of the landscape...rolling hills and waterfalls and rock ledges and wildflowers.  I just returned from yet another trip through the long state of Pennsylvania -- and I've driven these roads enough in the past year to see all four seasons unfold.   I'm convinced Alice Walker was right on in her book, The Color Purple -- God does dot the landscape of the world with the beauty of purple just to make us aware that He is in control.  He wants to share good things with us and create beauty through us.

Like the seasons of the land, we too have times in our lives that are in full, colorful bloom, and
other times where our life's beauty lies dormant, covered by the harsh and bitter reality of our experiences.  Just as in nature, we may wonder if we can survive the winters of our life.  We grow weary of the cold and lifeless spirit it creates in us and often want to hibernate and shut ourselves off from the world.

And then we see it.  A lavender crocus peeking through the snow.  A purple pansy that survived the winter.  Hope from the heavens spoken through a wildflower.  Simple blooms with a powerful message: