Sitting on the porch this morning, as I do most mornings during the summer months, I encountered something I hadn't encountered before. It was a beautiful morning. Facing the south, the clouds on the horizon were just starting to glow pink and orange with the rising sun in the east. The humidity of the past days had dispersed and the temperature was comfortable. Has it really only been 2 days since the air was so heavy and hot that it took your breath away when you walked out the door? Has it really only been since Sunday that your glasses would steam up when you entered the sweat box we called outdoors? Sitting there, I listened to crickets chirping away. It is a relaxing sound. It set the stage for the devotions that would take place there on the front porch.
Surrounded by the flowers and vines that Penny had planted, I enjoyed the slight breeze that touched the flowers. Slightly waving in the breeze, their colors added to the pallet of the morning. The soft reds and yellows, purples and pinks all came to life as the sun was just peeking over the horizon. What a glorious morning to be alive! What a joy to be able to welcome the new day that the Lord had brought forth once again. "This is the day that the Lord hath made" ran through my mind as I enjoyed the wonders of the morning.
Turning my attention to the devotions and readings of the morning, I listened to the sounds of the morning. The crickets, the birds, the cars zipping past taking people to work as close as the building next door or off into the city of St. Louis for a time in the cubicles of life that we call the office. As I sat there, I heard another sound, a slight chirping. It was so soft that it didn't register at first. But as the chirping continued I looked up from the book that I was reading to see where this soft, new sound was coming from.
At first, I could not figure it out. It continue as I sat there silently, watching, waiting for the noise maker to show himself. What would it be? I could hear it behind the pillar of the porch, the one cover in vines with soft purple flowers blooming all around. The I caught a glimpse of movement. Anticipation built in my heart as I waited and wondered. Then from around the corner, tasting the lovely nectar of the flowers flit a small bird - a hummingbird! What? Was this maker of the small, soft chirping that had brought me out of the pages of the book that had captured my attention?
Still chirping, with little wings a blur, he went from flower to flower, drinking the wonders of that flower, talking to himself. It was as though he was giving thanks to God for each and every flower that he came to. Chirp and the long thin beak pressed into the flower. Withdrawing, he continued to hover in the air only to chirp and go to the next flower. The beautiful little bird, the bird whose wings moved so quickly and wonderfully that they were hard to see, the bird whose body was so small and fragile and yet delicate and beautiful, seemed to be praising the Almighty for the flowers that were feeding him yet again this morning. The chirping continued as he continued to feed. Flitting to the zinnias around the bird bath, the little bearing of the wonders of creation continued to flit from flower to flower, thanking God for the coolness of the morning, the wonders of the day and the nectar of the flowers. Disappearing as quickly as he came, he left me with the crickets and the sparrows, the cars and the drivers, the author of the book and my thoughts.
Yes, the little bird drew my attention and left me a lesson. Give thanks to God for the day, for the moment, for the joys and for the sorrows, for the family and the friends, for the members of the congregation, for job that is to be done and the job that has been completed, for the car in which you can travel to the place of work, for the wonders of the morning and the colors of the sunrise. With each turn of the page as I returned to the book I was reading, I felt like chirping. Like the hummingbird, I felt that I should give thanks to the Lord for the words I could read, for the pages I could turn, for the things I was learning.
This is the day which the Lord has made, I will rejoice and be glad in it. Thank you Mr. Hummingbird for calling my attention to that which I might have missed - the wonders of today.
No comments:
Post a Comment