Ready To Fly

We went to our granddaughter’s kindergarten graduation.
My daughter and son-in-love saved seats for her four grandparents.
We were all in the second row.
On the stage, in the gym, we saw wonderful decorations.

The scenery was based on, Oh, The Places You’ll Go, a book by Dr. Seuss.
This is a Christian school which goes from pre-school to twelfth grade.
The ceremony was Christ centered.
The children sang songs about being God’s promise.

Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, and in purity.” (1 Timothy 4:12)

These precious little ones recited their verse, dressed in their white caps and gowns.
As I listened, I prayed that they will soon realize the truth they were proclaiming.
They are God’s promise; they are God’s masterpiece.
They are never too young to be an example, as they point others to Him.

A short video touched me days before the ceremony.
The school posted a video of all the seniors in their caps and gowns.
They walked through the halls of the school as the student body cheered.
At the end of the video, my throat tightened.

There were the little kindergartners in their caps and gowns standing two by two.
They each fist bumped or side hugged as the camera went down the line.
The seniors were behind them in their caps and gowns and, two by two, they did the same thing.
When the last seniors were seen, there were two people holding signs.

One was a tall senior and the other was a little kindergartner.
The senior’s sign said: I’m done!
The kindergartner’s sign said: I’ve just begun!
Oh, my heart.

Every parent knows the reality of this firsthand.
You send a little one off to school with a backpack too big for their small shoulders.
In the blink of an eye, that little one is taller than you.
They are ready to fly.

There is a park near my home.
Currently, a large section of the park is off limits.
There is an eagle’s nest high in a tree.
Three baby eaglets are inside the nest.

The growth of the eaglets can be followed through pictures and videos on social media.
People have named the mother and father eagle: Connie and Lloyd.
Even the eaglets were named: Independence, Liberty, and Freedom.
Those names have been shortened to: Indy, Birdie, and Dom according to a news report.

This park is where a large fireworks display happens each Fourth of July.
The officials are looking for another location for the fireworks so as not to disturb the eagles.
Bald eagles are no longer classified as endangered species; however, protections remain in place.
The Pennsylvania Game Commission maintains strict protection for the birds.

I have watched a few videos of the eaglets learning to fly.
The mother eagle was on the side of the nest flapping her wings.
She was showing her eaglets how it is done.
I saw another video where one of the eaglets was flapping their much smaller wings.

Soon, those eaglets will fly away from the nest.
I hope that day is captured in a video.
The eaglets have grown tremendously in such a short time.
I can relate.

Like the eaglets, the kindergartners are just beginning.
They are learning to metaphorically flap their wings.
The seniors are ready to fly.
They have been nurtured well and trained in the way they should go.

They, too, are God’s promise.
They, too, are God’s masterpiece.
They are ready.
Soar, all to His glory.