Becoming

“I’m not telling you all this for nothing. It may seem like I am making a big deal of trivial things, but these things are of vital importance to a fledgling soul when she is first learning to fly. As they say, her feathers have not yet grown in and she needs all the help she can get. Still, I know that no one will believe what I’m saying unless he has been through it himself. It is only because I hope to God that you will help many souls that I even bother to mention it here.” Teresa of Avila, The Book of My Life (1562)


I’m thinking about the many ways we find ourselves in a state of “becoming” because:

Today my sister Bobette loaded her oldest son Charley and his many belongings into her car and started driving from Plymouth, Minnesota, to South Bend, Indiana. There Charley will join about 2,000 other newbies for his first year of college.

Today my daughter Rebecca had an interview for an entry-level position in Duluth. Although she has passed her licensing examination and has a Master’s in Social Work, this job would be a very good one for her because she’s high on book knowledge but low on work experience.

Today I sat in my chair for centering prayer, working toward my goal of a more regular prayer life. Things are coming together for me, but not nearly as fast as I’d like. When I get myself settled for prayer time, it’s easy to remember these words from Teresa: “As they say, her feathers have not yet grown in and she needs all the help she can get.”

When Rebecca graduated from high school six years ago, I wrote a poem called “Becoming” to mark the occasion. I hadn’t read Teresa’s memoir yet, but her bird image is the same one I used:

Becoming

First praise is not for the bird in flight,
not for her strength or grace.
It begins with the beak pecking,
pecking against shell,
the wet wing flapping against air,
the squawking that comes before song.
The feathery one flies and sings,
but she starts (so small, so quiet)
as a heart, beating inside an egg.

Throughout our lives we are constantly in a state of becoming. Charley is off to college, Rebecca is looking for work, and I am seeking God. None of us is ready to fly, but our hearts are beating, beating, beating as we peck and flap and squawk in preparation for all that is to come.