She had eight different slots to choose from.
We bought a brand new hummingbird feeder this year. I had never seen one like it. It’s a two-story with eight different slots, complete with perches, for the little hummingbirds to feed at. I was hoping at last there would be plenty of nectar and plenty of perches and the little birds would spend more of their time eating and less of their time fighting.
This guy picked the same exact slot as the other bird, even though there were seven other options.
Alas, that was not to be the case. Nope, they continued to spend their time running the other birds away, instead of enjoying the abundance. They would squabble over the same little flower, even though there were options that offered the exact same nectar.
This isn’t the first time I’ve reflected on these aggressive little birds. When I spend much time watching them, I usually feel like God has something to teach me.
This time as I watched them, it occurred to me that in nature, the key word is survival. They don’t care about sharing or building relationships and community. They just want to have their next meal. They don’t know the first thing about thriving. They just want to survive at all costs.
I guess that’s okay, if you are a hummingbird.
But, how many people do the same?
How many of us settle for the same thing, day in and out? It’s not fabulous; but it’s familiar. We eat the same food, even though there are millions of recipes on the internet for something different. We stay at the same job even though we are bored to tears and long for something else.
We settle for mediocrity in our relationships. We choose friends who are just like us, not people who might help us grow or inspire us. We often allow our marital relationships to get super comfortable, ignoring each other most of the time. What if we turned of the television and went for a walk? What if we went outside and marveled at the wonder of the night sky?
What if we had a conversation about how we might change the world around us in some small way?
Sometimes it’s good for us to take a look around us and ask ourselves if we are thriving. We can ask things like: Are we a part of a caring community? Are we a part of a vibrant faith community? How can we make our relationships stronger? Can we exercise more and eat better? Are we living our lives to the fullest extent possible or are we just surviving?
I believe that God has called us all to a higher purpose than just getting by. I believe that He has plans for us that are beyond our imagination. To learn what they are, we have to talk to Him and then listen. We have to draw in close because sometimes He whispers. We have to be aware of His presence in the everyday.
Then, we must be willing to go, wherever He calls, knowing it may be just across our backyard, but knowing as long as we are walking with Jesus, we will be living out loud, because just surviving, is not His style.
Some hummingbirds reminded me. Perhaps you needed reminding too.
Have an awesome day!
Wendy 🙂