To me, this is yet another quotation that can be interpreted in more than one way. Today, I'm thinking of it as a reminder that we should do what we are meant to do ... be who we are meant to be ... live as we are meant to live. Over the past week, my husband and I have been watching with interest as a pair of small birds crafted a nest on our patio. It's just a very small space -- but (Lesson 1) they only took what they needed; no more, no less.
They have been flying away from the nest each time we walk outside, or the dogs go outside. And that gave us a chance to go just a bit nearer to study the nest's construction. It's not the standard nest that you may see in a tree, but rather one that they have woven together twigs in a basket pattern and "mortared" them with wet clay that dried into a sturdy home for them. They took only what they needed -- again -- with an economy and respect for the earth that we should all practice.
Now that they have a new mission -- doing what birds do -- they are vigilant, tending to incubating the fragile eggs so carefully placed there. (Lesson 3) They're very protective, and you can already look ahead to the time that they have a chirping baby in there that needs to be nurtured and taught. Everything those parental birds do will teach their young the life lessons they need to survive and thrive. (Lesson 4)
One of my great concerns is that many of our youth are not being taught any of these life lessons. The young teens of today are being parented by yesterday's youth, who were not always taught the basics like social skills, respect for others and the property of others, the value of life. On the local news yesterday they showed two pre-teen girls going at it on the playground and a knife was flashing between them. These were just CHILDREN, for pete's sake.
Please forgive my rambling thoughts today. I'm truly burdened by the thought that -- although the opportunity is out there -- not everyone will have the chance to be who they are meant to be, and instead life will become a hardened, scary place for the children of the world. It doesn't have to be that way.
Now that I've put these thoughts on "paper," so to speak, I'm going to try to pay more attention to the lessons from these tiny birds I've mentioned today. I haven't figured out what they are just yet, but will take photos when I can do it without scaring them away, and try to identify them. Their little lives have meant something to me -- now I need to do something that means something to others as I work harder on being who I am meant to be.
How about you????
Blessings on your day,
Melanie
2 comments:
Melanie, I feel the same way as you about the youth of today. Even my own 3 and 6 year old worry me. I pray that God shows me the way to teach them to not expect everything handed to them for free. They are ungrateful and spoiled by those that love them, and I feel that it does them no favors. Patty
I just had to click on your site from DigiFree, and now I know why that little bird caught my eye. Last Sunday I wrote about feeling alone but an instant later I heard the mockingbird sing in our backyard and I wasn't alone anymore. AMAZING, love what you had to say and the freebie, thanks!!
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