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Wow! I marveled. That must be its mate. Maybe the bird is wounded and can't fly, so its mate is feeding it. I watched them for a long time, amazed at the second bird's devotion and determination to help its mate.

The injured bird kept peeping, nonstop, more and more loudly in an increasingly annoying fashion. Perhaps I should take the poor thing to the vet, I mused. Perhaps it's dying!

I called my friend, Pat, who is a bird expert. When I described the scene, she laughed and said, "Gail, those birds aren't mates. That's a baby bird and its mother!"

"No way, Pat," I argued. "That bird is big. As a matter of fact, it's bigger than the other."

"That's because it still has its downy baby feathers. When it's ready to fly, it will shed those. Evidently, it fell out of the nest too soon, and the mama bird is feeding it until it can fly on its own."

"Okay," I said, embarrassed. "Thanks for your help." I hung up, persuaded that Pat was right. After all, she is the expert.

As I sat to continue praying, I heard God speaking to me. "Gail, your daughter is like that baby bird. She's not ready to leave the nest, she needs to mature a little more. Your work isn't done yet."

"You're right, Lord," I sighed. "Please help me handle this."

God led me to sit with my daughter and discuss how we could best live together as adults. It was difficult to let go of my mother role and loosen the apron strings, but I tried my best. I did set a few boundaries, and she agreed to them.

The result was that we solved the conflict between us and greatly enjoyed her next few months "in the nest." Within the next year, my little bird did fly away on her own—but only when she was truly ready.

Copyright © 2007 by the author or Christianity Today International/Today's Christian magazine. Click here for reprint information.

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