This post doesn't have much to do with recipes or a physical workout. It does have everything to do with stretching and growing! That is something that happens in life to prepare us for the next level!
Over the last few weeks, we have watched a mama robin build a nest from the ground up. We have seen her beginnings of a nest blown out by the winds. The very next day, she would start all over again with more straw, grass and what ever she needed to do to build the nest where she would lay her eggs. She would work harder each day and the nest would grow. Finally the nest was completed! That shows : PERSISTENCE!
A short time after that, I got a text from my son, who had been watching the nest from our window, and said MOM! I believe she is laying her eggs. The interesting observation he made was that as she was laying the eggs, the daddy robin would bring her food and take care of her needs. That shows: ENCOURAGEMENT!
As we would watch at different times during the day, we would see one of the birds fly up and the one sitting on the nest would fly away and the other would take a turn sitting on the nest! They did this for quite awhile! That shows: TAKING TURNS!
Finally the time came that we began to see more action in the nest! The babies were born!!! At first we only saw two little babies poking their heads up to get the food that the parents were bringing to them. Then the day came that we saw three little heads in the nest! That shows: CELEBRATION!
We still watch the nest several times during the day. A few days ago, we had a weird weather day and on May 3rd, it SNOWED! We watched out the window as mama didn't leave her nest! She snuggled down tighter on her nest to protect her new born babies from the elements! She held tight as the winds blew and the snowflakes fell through the tree branches! Once again the daddy bird would come up and bring food to the babies so that mama wouldn't have to leave the nest and could keep the babies warm! That shows: SUPPORT!
We watch off and on through out the day and we are seeing the babies move more and more each day. We are seeing little wings start to flap in the nest. We are also seeing mama bird fly away more now that the babies are growing! This is where the lesson is beginning for me! I watch mama come back with the meal for the babies. She doesn't bend down low to them like she used to do when they were young. She will stand on the end of the nest and wait for them to stretch up to her to get their meal. I have watched this for the last couple of days. If mama bird always bent down low to give them their food and didn't challenge them to stretch and reach for the goal, they would stay in the comfort of the nest forever (well at least until someone fell out because it was too crowded!) She challenges them to reach for the goal! Stretch and bend or do whatever is necessary to achieve the prize! To prepare them to be able to fly on their own she is pushing them out of their comfort zone on to the next level and eventually they will be able to soar! That shows: DETERMINATION!!
So throughout your lifetime, look for someone to come along side of you in your journey! It can be a spouse, a sibling, a parent, a friend or a family member! But look for someone that will be persistent and not let you stop. Someone that will be encouraging and cheer you on along the way, especially when the journey is tough! Someone that will celebrate along the way with you at your accomplishments! And someone that will encourage your determination to succeed! When it comes to taking turns, I learned this as I did my first 1/2 marathon last year, you will never be at a down spot at the same time and you will take turns pushing and encouraging one another! When you see the tough times come on the journey, be there to support someone! As all of this works together...you will be able to reach your goal and SOAR!!!!
Keep on Keeping on!!!
