When the mother eagle is expecting her young, she prepares a large nest high on the edge of a cliff. She fashions it out of giant branches and sharp thorns. She then fills it with layer upon layer of soft feathers.
When the baby eagles arrive and start getting all comfy-cozy in the nest, do you know what the mother eagle does? Each day she removes a few more feathers until, finally, the nest becomes unbearable. She does this deliberately, knowing full well that unless she forces her little ones out of their comfort zone, they’ll never take that leap of faith. They’ll never know what it means to soar.
Like an eagle that stirs up its nest and hovers over its young, that spreads its wings to catch them and carries them on its pinions.
Deuteronomy 32:11
Well, finally the little eagles can take it no longer. They climb to the edge of the nest and look down into the giant chasm below. Their hearts are gripped with fear, but what they’ve got is so bad, the unknown could hardly be worse. They mount their courage and take the leap of faith, realizing their wings are completely untested. They have no skill, no experience, no backup plan. They have absolutely no cause for confidence.
The baby eagle continues plummeting toward the earth, and just when it seems all hope is lost the mother eagle swoops underneath her and allows her to mount up on her wings. For the first time in her life she knows what it means to soar. From that moment on, there’s no holding her back.
She is free from fear. Confident.