No kidding, I am a bird watcher!
Hi, I’m Joni Eareckson Tada and you know me well if you know that I enjoy watching birds – my husband Ken has a goldfinch feeder he keeps filled hanging right outside our bedroom window. And around this time of year, little yellow goldfinches are flocking to eat up Nyjer thistle we put out there (no sunflower seeds for these little guys; they thrive on thistle)! We have lots of birds who visit our backyard and even a few hummingbirds – we don’t feed the hummingbirds because, well… how can I put it: for as tiny as they are, man do they have a temper! They may be small, but they’ll face off against any goldfinch, sparrow, or house wren that dares encroach on their Camilla bush!
Which is why I was especially delighted that God surprised Ken and me the other day with a very unusual encounter with a hummingbird. Ken was taking me to the hospital for a check-up and we were wheeling down the hallway, we spotted a bunch of nurses looking out at something through the floor-to-ceiling window… the window faced a small courtyard filled with plants and bushes, and when I wheeled up and asked what was going on, the nurses parted and invited Ken and me close to the window. “Do you see her?” they said. Just a few inches – we’re talking inches here – right beyond the glass… this little hummingbird on the second branch?
I looked closely and there she was; the tiniest little hummingbird sitting as still as a stone on top of her eensy-weensy little nest which, in turn, was delicately balanced on a tiny green twig. This bird’s coat was green and glistening, and she didn’t flinch one bit – no eye movement, no shifting of position… the bird sat there frozen looking like a perfect little picture. I had never seen a hummingbird up that close, nor that still (usually they’re darting here and there). Well, the nurses left but we kept looking and in a minute or so, some other people came up, curious as to what we were looking at – Ken and I welcomed them in, showed them the little bird, and moved on.
The rest of the day, although we were in that hospital for hours, the rest of the day Ken and I kept marveling that our great Creator God ingeniously thought up the idea of hummingbirds. And that he also gave them the knowledge and know-how of how to construct a tiny nest perfectly balanced on a fragile twig… holding an egg that’s the size of a fingernail… hatching baby hummingbirds that resemble a little sand bee more than a bird. Truly, the handiwork of God – oh, my goodness, whether displayed through the power of an eagle in flight or the preciousness of a little bird… truly, Job 37 is spot on when it says, “The Almighty is beyond our reach and exalted in power.” And the wonderful thing is, he fills our days with bees and birds, flowers and rainbows, trees in bloom and spring showers, all of it to showcase our great Creator King.
So you have to do this today, today in your busy schedule, whether rushing to the market or to a hospital appointment, would you please pause and look – look and enjoy the wonders of our Almighty God who is exalted in power. Thank him for the gifts of birds this spring, birds big and small. And praise him for creating each gift for our amazement and enjoyment. Because each bird, bee, river, and raindrop; each bloom and blossom, fruit and flower is meant to ignite praise to our wonderful God who has given us this glorious season of spring!
Used by permission of
JONI AND FRIENDS
P.O. Box 3333
Agoura Hills, CA 91376
© Joni and Friends