Tiny Messengers

 I am silently sitting on my deck, watching the birds and asking the Spirit if there is a message today. I close my eyes and hear the whir of tiny wings close to my ear. I turn to the sound and see that our tiny daily visitor, who I have named Humphrey Hummingbird, has come for a visit.  With delicate furiously flapping wings, he circles the bright orange firecracker plant, stopping to sip at each tubular flower and then pausing to face me as if to say "good morning to you!". 

  He flies off to a nearby tree branch and, as I follow him with my eyes and scan the yard, I realize that the birds seem to be the message today... I watch the tiny sparrows and chickadees at the feeder, each taking its turn and excitedly eating the birdseed as the hummingbird moves on to another flower. The birdsong is amazing this morning: the voice of each individual bird joining the others to form a symphony, the music of which cascades through our small forest.

 Jesus said that God cares for the sparrow and the lilies of the field- he loves his creation and I am part of that beautiful world. Does he love me more because I am human? I think not, because he is "in and through all things and in him all things hold together " (Colossians 1:17.) We are also assured that "in him we live and move and have our being" ( Acts 1:17), so we are therefore immersed in God...He/She is closer than our breath. In fact, our breath is the very thing that connects us intimately to God...breath is Spirit (the Hebrew word for breath and spirit is the same: "Ruach"). 

He/She is here, everywhere and I am filled with the Spirit of God...this and every moment, is holy. What a wonderful way to start the day!

 

* photo by Scott Prince