When The Swan Returns

When The Swan Returns

Remember that story of the poor Ugly Duckling? An egg hatches in the wrong place and somehow becomes mistaken for a duck when it’s truly a swan. The teasing and ridicule mark the poor swan who begins to believe that he is nothing more than an ugly duck. Then the Mother Swan shows up and he sees others just like him and he realizes that he belongs to them.

Our culture has made this a lesson in beauty or self esteem with T.V. shows like The Swan. Really, the point of the story was that the “ugly duckling” was never really ugly in the first place and, for that matter, was never really a duck. He was trying to belong to something that he was never part of.

The Mother Swan went away. She was probably seeking out food or a better environment to raise her young. She didn’t abandon the egg, she was leaving it to supply something it needed. In the Mother Swan’s absence, all kinds of discouragement and lies crept into the “duck’s” thinking.

Jesus has gone to prepare a place for us. He left us here, but not forever. He will return (Read John 14:2-3). In the meantime, many of us are getting discouraged. We are identifying ourselves as earthlings and we don’t seem to fit. We never will because we are truly citizens of Heaven.

Apply this to your parenting. Sometimes we Moms feel enormous guilt when we leave our babies home whether it’s to go to a job, purchase groceries, or enjoy a date with their Daddy. The Swan left her baby, God left His children, but not forever. When we leave we should have the intent to improve our children through our absence either through financial gain, food to prepare, or a more loving parent relationship. If we leave and bring nothing in return, then their identity crumbles and their value sinks. Return with reminders that build their security and meet their needs.

If you’ve ever thought about Christ’s return and gotten an uneasy anxious feeling then you know what it is to be a child left home. You know they love you, but you also worry. So reassure your children that when you leave, it’s to better them. Let them see that there is something to gain when you leave. Come back with refreshed love, and a burning need to hold your children. I believe Christ will return that way.