3 Reasons You Might Need to 'Move Your Nest'
Anyone who knows me can tell you that I'm not a fan of birds AT ALL (I hope all my bird lover friends don't take this personally), but I was recently fascinated by a mama bird who built her nest in a tree outside my kitchen window. My oldest daughter and I watched as she carefully laid each twig and scrap of whatever material she could find. Day after day she constructed her little abode with precision, care, and meticulous effort.
As she completed her masterpiece and began to settle in, we were unfortunately struck by a series of storms. Whipping winds, lots of rain, chaos all around. These factors tore the nest apart. Shredded pieces were scattered all along the ground. It was a sad scene, especially after all of the effort that little bird had put into her lodging.
We waited and waited for her to return and rebuild but, to our surprise, she did not. At first I thought, "now why would she abandon something she had put so much work into? Doesn't she want to salvage what she has worked so hard for for so long?" But then I realized that this little bird had done a mighty wise thing.
She moved her nest.
I can relate to our feathery friend. After much prodding by my Heavenly Father, I was forced to move my nest too. At first it felt like a terrible tragedy. Starting over is never easy. But here are three reasons I'm so thankful I moved my nest.
1. My Nest Was Built With Unstable Material
I spent 15+ years building my former nest. I built it with career accolades, monetary gain, mounds of stress, a lack of quality time with my family, and a lackluster reliance on God. On the surface, my nest looked strong and shiny but the core was weak and on the verge of breaking down. Christ was not at the center. Instead, he was mixed in somewhere amongst all the other twigs. Without a stable center, my nest was never really secure and it had no real chance of survival.
2. My Nest Was In the Wrong Location
While I was climbing my own personal pride ladder, I was moving in the entirely wrong direction. My heart was tuned into to the things of this world and I was putting all of my eggs into, well, the wrong location. The GPS of my heart had a fuzzy signal due to the interference of my own wants and I was moving away from God instead of toward him. I was initially devastated when my nest was torn down by the storms of life because I didn't think I had anywhere else to turn. My view was clouded and I thought I had lost everything when I lost the ability to continue in my career path. The reality was, however, that The Lord was simply removing the clutter so he could construct something beyond my limited scope. He saw the danger of my coordinates when I could not and lovingly shifted me to more solid ground.
3. My New Nest is Better Than I Could Have Ever Imagined
It's amazing to me how I continue to question God even though he has shown his faithfulness and mercy to me time and time again. When I was struck with a chronic illness, I thought my world had ended. Life as I knew it was over and I could only see darkness as I looked down the tunnel of my future. I couldn't imagine life without my beloved career, but The Lord proved me wrong (he's pretty great at that!). As I began to build a new nest, I committed to trusting the gentle nudge of the Holy Spirit. Each material I placed was vetted through biblical guidance and persistent prayer for wisdom. My heart had been relocated and recalibrated to a new way of thinking. I began focusing on the things of God as opposed to the things of 'me.' While my nest is still very much under construction and will undoubtedly need repairs along the way, I am so grateful that my Father loves me enough to refuse to allow me to remain complacent in my sin. Had I rebuilt my nest in the same spot, I'd be foolishly facing the same storms in a shaky shelter. Although storms will still undoubtedly come, the foundation of my nest is strong and steady because my priorities have been reranked.
So consider your 'nest,' friends. Is it rooted in the core of Christ or are you teetering on the edge of yourself? Do you feel a sense that God is urging you to move to a place more grounded in him? Are the storms of life dismantling your structure? Don't be afraid! The Lord is with you, his guidance will lead you to a place of security and rest that only his presence can provide.
"Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?"
-Matthew 6:26 (ESV)-