Fallen Nests

From Chicken Soup for the Soul:

Fallen Nests Chicken Soup for the Soul: Empty Nesters

One swallow does not make a summer.

~Aristotle

A majestic blue spruce shades our front yard. Its mighty crown stretches higher each year. The feathery branches of that green giant are like gentle arms cradling countless birds and squirrels. I know animals feel welcome and safe in the comfort of the thick warm tree.

One day, my husband was doing yard work near the big blue spruce when something caught his eye. An empty bird's nest had fallen to the ground and next to it were broken pieces of a robin's egg.

A little bird had developed inside that egg, cracked the shell, and worked his way out into the world. We knew the mama and papa birds had kept him nourished with worms. As he grew, they'd taught him to fly and one day he flew off to live life on his own.

As we looked at the emptiness of the woven twigs, it seemed so much like our own home.

Both our sons were adopted. The older married on Memorial Day and graduated from high school the following Saturday. His beautiful daughter was born six months later. The younger began running away when he was thirteen years old. Not just once, but time after time.

My nest was empty when it should have been full. My heart felt the same way.

I knew the mother robin would lay eggs in another nest next spring. She would dig more worms and raise more baby birds, teaching me that life goes on. I faced the choice of wallowing in depression or moving on with life. I needed to trust that I had done my best to teach my boys to fly. I knew God's "eye was on the sparrow" and He would care for my sons no matter where they went or what they did. It was time to let Him be in control and provide.

But I also knew I needed a reminder to strengthen me.

I took the empty bird nest and propped it on a twig. Inside it I positioned a broken eggshell and a tiny "blue bird of happiness" from the local craft store. I topped it all with a glass dome to become my symbol of hope.

God did provide. In unbelievable ways. Both sons are now married to beautiful Christian women and have filled my home and my heart with six grandchildren. Like the blue spruce, my arms stretch out to cradle and keep them all.

http://www.beliefnet.com/Inspiration/Chicken-Soup-For-The-Soul/2009/08/Fallen-Nests.aspx?source=NEWSLETTER