Thursday Afternoon Bird Photo with Commentary

This herring gull is in transition. 

The tail, wings and back say adult herring gull; the spotted head says juvenile. 

(The messy look is courtesy of high winds on Martha's Vineyard last week.)

These birds take three years to mature and they gradually go from very spotty and stripey to solid gray and solid white with just the polka dotted tail for an accent. 

This reminds me of our children during that phase when they seemed to be more like adults in some parts while still like children in other parts (both physical and personality-wise). 

There are days when I feel as if I haven't finished maturing, either. There are parts of me that aren't quite grown up yet. I can't decide if this is a failing or a good thing. Or at least a neutral "everybody is like that" thing. I certainly know that God's not finished with me yet.