Randy Suits

When Birds Leave the Nest

My dearest most precious Eve,

My frequent early June walks bring to focus the many young nestlings and especially those who have just left the nest. With wings not fully developed, many hop along the ground and must be fed a day or two by parents. Close observation shows that instead of bringing a worm to the youngster, the parents scratch the ground and peck with their beaks to uncover elusive food. Once out of the nest even the birds expect the young to provide for themselves. It seems that the birds discovered the necessity of tough love. They don’t enable their young to depend upon the parent. The young bird will either learn to feed itself or it will surely die. The longer it hops on the ground the greater the danger of becoming prey for a cat. Wings were given for flight. Flight is the means of transport from place to place, obtaining food and avoiding danger. Leaving the nest means that the nest relationship forever ceases.
Human parents often forget that it is absolutely necessary for the child to be free to fail and fall flat on their face or the seat of their pants as often as necessary to acquire wisdom, knowledge and experience to avoid repeating failure invoking behavior and/or activities. It is as painful for the parent to watch and leave the burden on their offspring as the it is for a young adult to endure the embarrassment, exasperation and anger of failure.
Upon reflection it is clear that our Heavenly Father allows each of us to fall short of our goals and even suffer humiliation because of stiff necked sinfulness. God knows that if we don’t learn to fly from temptation we will surely be pounced upon by sin. Sometimes the temptation is for a parent to attempt to relieve the financial burden of the children, only to find the child has successfully transfered their own financial excesses to their parent. How does this help the child in life. They have learned a false, even ungodly lessen; child can fail and parent will pick them up. Where is this precept in the bible? Scripture says instead that the children shall care for their parents in old age. If the parent allows a loving god to discipline, teach and mold their child, the child will be strong enough to care for the parent in their final days. God expects parents to get out of His way as He deals with their children.
The nest experience is the opening window of time for all creatures. That window closes never to open again when we leave the nest. A new window of life opens for both parent and child. Parent goes on as an observer, watching both God and child travel on together. Often the child is unaware that God is with them. However the God who hears and answers prayer is a good taskmaster who is fully capable to control our children. Most of what He has to teach them is one on one after the spirit. Parents who come between God and child only interfere and slow progress. When the child asks for financial assistance because of neglegence or poor decisions, leave that issue with God in prayer and refuse to remove the child from the classroom of hard knocks where God will teach, instruct and change the character of the offending child.
This is what a good parent does when birds leave the nest.

Praying for and thinking of you with all my heart, Kochany