Several weeks ago I noticed some hawks soaring around outside my office window and I stopped working to watch them for a while.  I noticed that some small birds were up there soaring with them and that every now and then the small birds would literally dive down and bounce off of the larger hawks.  After watching for a while I realized the small birds were fledgling hawks learning to soar.  I'm not sure of the real reason why they were bouncing off the adults but I think it was probably part of their learning process.  They might do it because they are getting tired and need some lift without having to land and start over.  Or maybe it is part of how they learn to dive and grab prey and fly high without missing a beat.  It was an amazing and interesting thing to watch for sure.

The red-tailed hawks that live somewhere on this 40 story building have become regular visitors on the concrete ledges outside of the windows around my office.  I have seen them perched there preening themselves, gazing at their own reflections, in pairs, alone.  And others in my office have seen the females with their young tucked beneath their wings on the ledges in early spring and that they have watched in amazement as the young birds climbed on the female's back and dug in with their talons as she flew away carrying them through the sky much like the space shuttles are transported on the backs of large airplanes.  I would assume this is another way that she teaches them to fly and catch prey.

Now that summer is in full bloom and it is hot and sunny and the fledglings have completed their course in soaring, I suppose they have moved on to create lives for themselves, find mates, build nests, and create lesson plans for the teaching of their own fledgling flying courses next spring.  And their parents are busy hunting and building and planning for their next stage in life. 

This is much like human parents and children, isn't it?  We have our young and in their early days we shelter them in our nests and care for them and then when they are older we take them places to experience life along with us.  Like the hawks carried on their mother's back, we let our children see and feel and experience life as we see and feel and experience and it teaches them how to live, doesn't it?  And then one day they are ready to learn to live life on their own - but not quite ready to do it without supervision or a safety net.  So they cut loose in the sky and we are flying nearby so they can bounce off of us when they get tired and need lift or so they can safely practice making it on their own.  Then comes the day when they soar off into the sky without us.  I wonder if the hawks miss their little ones when they go or if they are glad to get the nest all to themselves.  I wonder if they recognize their children as adults when they return with a mate and build a nest nearby.  I wonder.

My fledglings are off soaring.  And I recognize them even though they really don't look like my little babies.  And I still offer to spread my wings and catch them when they need it.  Or to carry them if required.  Although they are really too big to be carried.  My catching and carrying these days is prayer and then just being a friend - a sounding board and not a mid-air launching pad - who listens and gives counsel when they ask (and sometimes when they don't!).  Sometimes it is to listen and cry with them in their pain and struggles.  Sometimes it is to laugh at their jokes or listen to their dreams.  Sometimes it is helping them understand things about decorating or dressing or cooking or job hunting.  Occasionally I'll share some prey with them so they won't go hungry.  Or edit their term papers at the last possible moment or provide them with traffic information and alternate routes while they are out driving around and run into a jam.  Probably like the hawks with their young who grow up and live nearby - we are contemporaries now, not parent and children too much.  Interesting. My heart still tells me I am their parent and they are my child.  But I can't make their decisions for them or live their lives or expect them to obey me any more. I'm really kind of glad about that because that's a lot of responsibility to put on an old hawk's back.  But I can stay involved, be their friend, pray for them, lend the occasional helping hand, bless them, welcome them, enjoy them, and love them.  I'm glad I'm a human parent.  Although soaring like a hawk would be a blast.

This blogthought made me wonder what the Bible had to say about hawks.  The answer is not too much.  Eagles are a more prominent bird in scripture.  I came across a passage about eagles in Deuteronomy 32 and as I read it I felt a warm rush of Father's love for me as I pondered and remembered the hawks with their fledglings. 

Deuteronomy 32:10-11 (The Message) He found him out in the wilderness, in an empty, windswept wasteland. He threw his arms around him, lavished attention on him, guarding him as the apple of his eye. He was like an eagle hovering over its nest, overshadowing its young, then spreading its wings, lifting them into the air, teaching them to fly.

Soaring on His pinions,
amy

Psalm 103:1 Praise the LORD, O my soul;
all my inmost being, praise his holy name.
2 Praise the LORD, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits-
3 who forgives all your sins
and heals all your diseases,
4 who redeems your life from the pit
and crowns you with love and compassion,
5 who satisfies your desires with good things
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.