The eaglet’s head wobbles on her scrawny neck. Her mottled wings struggle to extend and bump the twigs and moss woven to cradle her. She cannot see beyond the boughs securing her stranded nest. Helpless even to feed herself, the chick’s attempts to communicate her needs grate upon the ear.
A sole listener seeks and cherishes every note of her voice. The majestic parent swoops in to nourish and comfort her. The white crowned adult knows what the chick cannot imagine–this is temporary.
Despite its current unseemly and crippled state, the chick will grow into her father’s likeness. Her flightless wings will stretch. She will strengthen and grow glorious feathers which gleam in the sunlight. Her flightless wings will stretch and and buoy her from this nest into a vast new realm of possibilities. As a perfected symbol of nobility and freedom, her opened eyes will view a world yet unseen. Beyond her comprehension lies the broad expanse of reality well known to her father.
The parent understands that his chick’s present capacity does not define its potential. He nurtures his baby toward something far greater than she could become without him. Left on her own, she would perish, never to experience more than her frailty. He holds watch over her throughout this fragile stage, though she does not understand the process or foresee the end result.
Once she soars through the heavens, she will recognize her true purpose and identity. But the awesome destiny of riding and ascending on the power of the wind remains beyond the grasp of her mind.
For now, she remains unfinished but perfectly held.
As am I.
As are we all.
“The Lord is the everlasting God…
He will not grow tired or weary,
and his understanding no one can fathom.
He gives strength to the weary
and increases the power of the weak.
Even youths grow tired and weary,
and young men stumble and fall;
but those who hope in the Lord
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles” (Isaiah 40:28-31).
“Sing aloud, O daughter … The Lord your God is in your midst,
a mighty one who will save;
he will rejoice over you with gladness;
he will quiet you by his love” (Zephaniah 3:14,17).
“You are my hiding place;
you will protect me from trouble
and surround me with songs of deliverance.
I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;
I will counsel you with my loving eye on you” (Psalm 32:7-8).