What Does Love Look Like?

There were 2 baby birds, Bart and Bob, in a nest perched high above the ground. The Mama Bird loved her 2 babies very much. Every day she would fly out from the nest and search for worms to bring back. Without fail, she would come back with one worm for each of her babies. “Here’s your worm for the day,” she’d say. “I love you both very much.” And the babies were happy.

This continued for years as the babies got bigger and stronger and turned into high-energy youths. They would play all day long around the large nest their mama had built for them. Then, everyday, Mama Bird would come home with a worm for each of them. “Did you both have a good day?” she’d ask. “Yes, Mama. We both love you very much,” they’d reply. Then they would each eat their worm the Mama Bird brought for them. And the babies were happy.

The babies kept growing and started spending less of their time playing and more watching the other birds fly. “I would like to fly like Mama does,” they would say to each other. “But I don’t know how, and it looks scary.”

So one day when Mama Bird came home with their worms, they asked, “Mama, can we fly like you and the other birds do?” “Well, of course!” replied Mama Bird, “you both just have to try.” “But we’re scared of gravity. Won’t it make us fall?” they asked. Mama Bird chuckled a little bit. “Gravity isn’t bad; it’s keeping you from floating out of this nest right now,” she said with a smile on her face. Mama Bird was wise.

Time passed and Mama Bird kept bringing home worms everyday to her 2 babies that she loved very much. They kept getting bigger and stronger and now spent all of their day watching other birds fly—it looked like so much fun! One beautiful spring day Mama Bird came home to see one of her babies on the edge of the nest. Mama Bird asked, “What are you doing, Bart?” “I think I want to fly today,” he replied. “That’s wonderful! I love you so much!” Mama Bird exclaimed.

So Mama Bird took Bart out to fly. She held onto him until they were both high in the air and then she let him go. Bart flapped his wings as hard as he could, but kept falling. He flapped them harder and harder as the specks on the ground came into clearer view. Finally, right as he was closing in on the forest floor he started to rise back up. He was flying! Mama Bird was so happy for Bart. They flew around rest of the day looking for worms together.

That night they both flew back to the nest where Bob was waiting on them. “I flew today!” screamed Bart. “Really? Weren’t you scared?” replied Bob. “At first it was really scary, but I just kept flapping my wings until I started to fly. And then, I went with Mama and got my own worm today!” Bart was obviously proud of himself. Mama Bird told Bob, “We can take you out to fly tomorrow if you want.” Bob looked down and said, “I don’t know…I’m still kind of scared.” Mama Bird said, “That’s ok. I still love you very much.” So they all ate their worms and were happy.

The next day came and Bart went out to fly first thing in the morning. Mama Bird asked Bob, “Are you ready to fly today?” “I’m still kind of scared,” he replied. “Maybe tomorrow.” “That’s ok,” Mama Bird replied, “I love you so much. I’ll bring you a worm when I come back tonight.” So Bob didn’t try to fly that day.

The next day was much the same: Bart flew all day long, Bob was still scared to fly, and Mama Bird brought a worm home for both her and Bob. The next day was the same, too. In fact, the days rolled into months, and the months rolled into years. Bart never came around much anymore because he started his own nest and would go out to find worms for his 2 babies he loved very much. Mama Bird was getting older and sometimes it would take her longer to gather food, but she would always bring Bob back a worm at the end of the day.

One special day, Bart came over on his way home to his own nest to visit Bob. “Bob”, he said, “you’ve really got to try flying. It’s so much fun! And not only that, I get to find worms for me and my 2 babies that I love so much.” Bob replied, “It still seems kind of scary. Besides, Mama brings me a worm every night.” Bart nodded and said, “Yeah, she loves us both very much. But, it’s weird…I don’t know how to describe it, but for some reason I really enjoy hunting for worms to give to my babies. I really liked it when we were growing up and Mama brought us worms every day; now I guess I know how she feels.” Bob looked at him puzzled, “I don’t know what you mean. I get to sit in the nest and watch everybody else fly everyday—that’s pretty fun. You have to spend your whole day looking for food and I don’t, but we both end up with a worm every day. Sounds like I’m getting the better deal.” After they talked a bit more, Bart said his farewell and flew back to his own nest with worms for him and his 2 babies.

Time kept passing and most days were the same. Mama Bird would spend all day looking for worms and then bring one back for Bob. At night, they would talk a little and then go to sleep.

One winter day Mama Bird got up to go spend her day looking for worms for herself and Bob. Before she left, she said to Bart, as she always did, “I love you so much.” Bob replied, “I love you, too.” The day passed and night came, but Mama Bird didn’t come back. Bob knew what had happened—Mama Bird had gotten old and wouldn’t be coming back this time. He was very sad at this thought and went to sleep with a heavy heart.

In the morning, Bob was still sad. He was also hungry. He hadn’t thought about it until just now, but then it hit him, “Who is going to bring me a worm today?” He panicked. He roamed around the nest while his mind raced. He racked his brain for ways to get some other bird’s attention so that they would bring him a worm—he knew he had to eat! He tried everything he knew how to do to get the attention of the other birds that were flying by with worms in the mouths, but nothing worked. The hunger pains coupled with sadness started to get to him. After another cold and sleepless night, he finally realized the only thing to do was to get out of the nest.

Early the next morning, Bob got himself ready to fly. He was scared but remembered Mama Bird telling him that she loved him very much. He remembered what she said about gravity. He thought of how Bart said it was fun to get worms for himself and his 2 babies now. As he gathered all of his courage, he stepped to the edge of the nest with his heart pounding and his mind full of all of these things. With his eyes wide open and his wings spread as wide as they could go, he took one last look at his nest and stepped over the edge.