Strong

Strong. 

The other day a baby Mockingbird was trapped in our backyard. Our eight foot fence made it impossible for him to get free. Or so I thought. 

My need to fix everything made we want to intercede. What could I do to make it easier for him? Open the gate to make an easier pathway? Try to catch him? 

What I actually did was nothing, except send a few encouraging words his way. The reality was that he would have to figure it out on his own. His ability to function in his world would be determined by how strong he was. 

At one point Mama bird landed on the fence, and chirped insistently for him to try again. Unfortunately, his feeble attempts only resulted in him flying half-way up the fence. He had landed on the screens and the protruding brick, but to no avail was he able to maneuver the height of the fence. 

I had pretty much resigned myself to an afternoon of loud Mama chirping, quiet baby chirping, and annoying dog barking when the most unexpected thing happened. All by himself he was somehow able to make it to the ledge at the top of the gate. A second later with a burst of strength he was atop the fence. Before I could even cheer he flew directly across the backyard to our neighbor's tree. 

It was then that I realized denying him his own victory through his strength and perseverance  would have been wrong. Had I interfered his confidence may have waned, and he may have given up. But, by allowing him the time to figure it out he was able to do the very thing he was created for; fly away on his own. 

To be truthful, I couldn't help but remember another not so lucky bird who found its way into our backyard. Let's just put it this way, the last thing I saw was its squirming feet making their way down the esaphagus of our Basset Hound Molly, while I was yelling, "Don't you do it!"