Fledging

Words directed at Kati over the past few months:

• Who is going to bake the summer birthday cakes?
• Who will be my wardrobe consultant?
• Who is going to turn over the calendar in your room?
• But you won’t be able to eat your favorite summer meal.
• But you will miss the family reunion.
• Who is going to help me clean and organize?
• You won't get any more homemade ice cream.
• What if you get homesick?
• What if I get homesick for you?

And the list goes on.

You see, when Ryan and Sarah invited Kati to spend the summer with them, it was January. It seemed like such a grand opportunity for her...to visit with her family, to spend time with the nieces she hardly knows, to see another part of the country, to be included in their summer travels to more new places. They wanted her to come; she wanted to go.

Now it is June, and my mother's heart is saying, Oh, wait! It is so far. You are so young. You will have to board an airplane alone. You have never been away from home before...you have never been away from me before.

But she is fledging...she is growing...she is going...she is spreading her wings. He (her Heavenly Father) will be with her. And she will return at summer's end, with stories to tell, new experiences to share, deeper love for her far-away family...and another step closer to leaving the nest. (Maybe that is why my mother's heart is wanting to cling.)

To Kati...

The Lord bless thee, and keep thee:
The Lord make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee:

The Lord lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.

Numbers 6:24-26