Hummingbird Grace

Some people say that the hummingbird is a sign that a loved one is near . . . 

But I see the hummingbird as a reminder of God's grace. 

It was a tumultuous week, a week where everything changed and things were turned upside down. 

I felt overwhelmed. 

I was overwhelmed. 

A difficult labor and the healing process to follow, a newborn to take care of, a spirited toddler waiting for me when I arrived home, clamoring for attention and order and love. 

And my body was raw. My emotions were raw. I felt like I was slipping in and out of reality and just trying to hold on, ready to plunge over the cliff of chaos. 

Just hold on. Hold on to Jesus. 

I was sitting in the backyard. Near the hummingbird vines that my Mama planted. 

She likes to see the spritely little visitors alight on the warm pink flowers and drink their sweet nectar. 

And I held new life in my arms while my little daughter played in the grass and I felt like I couldn't do it. I felt weak and I felt weary and I was in physical pain and I felt utterly exhausted and inadequate.

And I watched as a tiny hummingbird alighted on a waiting flower. 

This thought came to me--only a little grace. Even a hummingbird-sized amount of God's grace would be enough. He is rich in grace. Even a small amount of His grace covers my inadequacy, my weakness, my fears. His grace is enough. And He is a great Store of grace. 

I took heart. I rallied my emotions, my shortcomings, my perplexity. And I handed them to the Father of all grace, who is rich in mercy. 

I am not enough--but in Him I have all the grace that I need. 

My sister's words come to me like fire and a spark of hope--"If we were never overwhelmed, how would we learn to rely upon Him?"

I want to rely upon Him. I want the fullness of His grace, rich, warm, life-giving in my heart. 

So I cling to Him. I take one step at a time. I learn the lesson of the hummingbird, the tiny, fiery creature who drinks the sweet fullness of every flower. 

The sweetness, the strength of His grace filled me and He carried me through as I held on to Him--

The God of all grace. 



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Photo Attribution: 
1.prorallypix / Foter / Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)  

2.Bill Gracey / Foter / Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)