I was watching a baby bird in our tree one morning: he was big enough to fly a little bit from branch to branch, but still had his baby fluffy feathers. Each time his momma would land near him, he’d open his mouth for food. Then she would fly off again. But what was even more interesting was watching him against the wind. It was pretty cold and windy, especially for mid-May, and yet his momma left him on the branch in the cold wind. She didn’t cover him with her wings or stand between him and the direction the wind was blowing. She flew off to look for more food, leaving him to put into practice what she had taught him.
I watched the baby bird clutch the branch as the wind blew against him. Then he flew slightly and hopped toward the ends of the tree branches and moved around the tree, all the while bracing himself against the weather. He was growing stronger by doing this, growing confident, willing to take the next steps.
God doesn’t hover over us, though he will cover and comfort us when we need it. He gives us instruction and guidelines, teaches the right ways from the wrong. And He gives us free will to choose to obey or to go our own way. He disciplines and corrects, with a firm but gentle hand and always out of love for us. He knows the best way for us to grow is to let go and make us fly. Yet He is always with us.
God is not about raising wimpy children. He expects us to be strong with His wisdom and strength. Not with how the world sees things, but with His godly, righteous wisdom. Will we fall? Yes. And He will pick us back up; we will learn and try again.
If God keeps track of even the sparrows, He most assuredly is not going to lose sight of you. “Even the sparrow has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may have her young – a place near Your altar, Lord Almighty, my King and my God.” Psalm 84:3