Hummingbirds

Zzzzzzzzzz, zzzzzzzzt, zzzzzzzzt! It sounds like a wasp on steroids, but no, it's a hummingbird, one of the regular visitors to our front porch. Tiny creatures swoop in to sip nectar from the feeder even while we sit not 4 feet away on our porch swing. No fear...on either of our parts, which is not to say there isn't a startle factor, usually on my part.

Tom calls them the kids. They are demanding like two year olds. If their juice runs low they'll flit right up to Tom and hover beak to nose, letting him know about it. Talk about in your face! And even when the feeder is filled up some little critters are not eager to share. Apparently there's a pecking order. One vigilant ruby throated bird stands guard to chase away others who dare sneak in for a sip. I think he's trying to tell us we need another feeder or two.

To describe a hummingbird is an exercise in dichotomy -- they've got split personalities. Delicate yet bold, lovely but demanding, tiny, and by their diminutive size you'd assume, gentle, but no, they are really quite aggressive. We get a kick out of them. And it seems they are very smart. First thing this spring a hummingbird was buzzing me when I was out back. Odd. Later in the day when Tom was on the porch swing one of the little fellows zoomed in and hovered right at Tom's chest (might have been the red shirt) and then went up and perched on the metal bracket that held the feeder the previous summer. He repeated the motion, never touching Tom, but poking the air as if to say,

"Hello, I'm back. How about you go make some juice."

 

                                                                         "Oh yeah, that's what I'm talking about!"

 

And when we aren't feeding Tom's little tykes, their heavenly Father provides.

 

 

He's always watching out for them -- and us. Consider the birds and the lilies...

 

Luke 12:22-32

²² And He said to His disciples, “For this reason I say to you, do not worry about your life, as to what you will eat; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. ²³ For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. ²⁴ Consider the ravens (and hummingbirds), for they neither sow nor reap; they have no storeroom nor barn, and yet God feeds them; how much more valuable you are than the birds! ²⁵ And which of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life’s span? ²⁶ If then you cannot do even a very little thing, why do you worry about other matters? ²⁷ Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; but I tell you, not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. ²⁸ But if God so clothes the grass in the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, how much more will He clothe you? You men of little faith! ²⁹ And do not seek what you will eat and what you will drink, and do not keep worrying. ³⁰ For all these things the nations of the world eagerly seek; but your Father knows that you need these things. ³¹ But seek His kingdom, and these things will be added to you. ³² Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has chosen gladly to give you the kingdom.