Underneath the Wings

My eagle babies are flying now.

I found them one day when I first started this writing journey.  They hatched into the cutest things. Little balls of gray fluff, they waddled and I always got nervous when they neared the edge of their giant nest.
I needn't have worried. The babies had great parents who pulled them back to the center and tucked them up underneath.

I remember how I delighted when I started noticing the black pin feathers growing through the fluff.  I'd call my daughters over to watch, just like they were right outside my window. Only I live in North Texas and they live in Northern Iowa - hey, we have the Norths in common! Then this summer, just a few weeks ago, I waited in happy anticipation for "fledge" when the three babies, now large black teenagers, that regularly perched on the large branches surrounding their nest, would pump their wings and experience lift for the first time.

I didn't see it happen, but the camera operator zoomed in on two of my babies sitting on a nearby rooftop the other day. So cool.

I see my writing journey walking hand-in-hand with the eaglets - just not moving quite as quickly.  Like them, I entered this world with wide-eyed naivete'. Deep inside I had/have what I need to become the writer of God's creation.

Fiercely determined, I waddle in like I know what I'm doing. More than once, I stood teetering on the edge of literary disaster. The Lord used some of you along with your tweets and posts to pull me back to safety before I stumbled past the point of no return.

Along the way, I started growing my craft, inhaling books on the subject of writing, with all of it's various elements, along with studies into social media. I began reading the most current offerings of Christian fiction authors and relished every opportunity for tough critiques from new friends.

I think some of my pin feathers are growing.

I'm not ready to fly yet, although I'm beginning to think that flying is a little like having kids. I'll never be quite ready. I think it won't be too much longer before I'm prepared to give my novel a flap and see what kind of breeze it can stir.

Until then, I'm content underneath my Father's wings.