We have a small, privately fenced backyard that is my haven. In our little yard, we have several bird feeders. I love the birds. There is something about watching and listening to them that reminds me that the world is so much bigger than me, and yet as small as the moment I am in…I love it when they visit.
Now, we do not have hundreds of birds flocking to our feeders, requiring the Birds of Tennessee Field Guide and a set of binoculars….we have maybe 6…
But, in this last year there have been three unusual sightings…
A Hummingbird…
I would give anything if I had a picture of this moment. The butterfly is all I’ve got…
It was late July or early August. My mother’s memorial service was just a few weeks away and I was sitting out back, trying to write something to honor her. I was completely stuck…too much emotion, too many memories to even try to form a sentence. I was staring off with tears welling up, when a hummingbird came and hovered just above my laptop screen…and it just kept hovering. I couldn’t breathe. My momma LOVED hummingbirds! My Momma…I felt her close. The tears started to fall, but I didn’t move. The hum of those wings felt like her cheering me on…”you can do this”. The hummingbird circled and hovered over my shoulder for a bit before flying off, leaving me typing away… the words flowing out, right along with the tears!
That hummingbird was my helper.
A Hawk…
A couple of months ago, I had come to a decision to step away from some responsibilities within a group that means the world to me. I was struggling emotionally and withdrawing. I was so afraid of letting someone down… it seemed best if no one had to depend on me. The day before the meeting where I planned to resign, I was still struggling with the decision. My husband and I were sitting in the room that overlooks our little back yard and I was sharing my struggle with him. All of the sudden a hawk swooped down and landed square in my view, on a fence post, 25 feet from my recliner. He just sat there, staring in the window. This time I was camera ready. It’s not a very good picture, but I got it! It seemed so unusual that I had to ask the Google…”What do hawk sightings mean?”… It literally said, top of the search… “Hawks see with skilled precision…you should study your choices more before acting…seeing hawks means you are on the right path and they are there to keep you there.”
I did not resign and it has been the right decision. I’m so grateful…
That hawk helped me take the time to see more clearly…
A Dove…
There is this dove that comes and hangs out in our little yard. He seems to just love it there! He doesn’t fly away when I come and go. I go out when he is there and we just sit and stare at each other. I talk to him…(sorry if that sounds crazy). I tell him he’s pretty, that I’m glad he came… I ask if he’s hungry, etc. Don’t worry…he doesn’t talk back, (insert chuckle). I don’t know how to explain what he makes me feel, but I’m just so glad to have him there…so grateful he is not afraid, so happy that he just stays…and listens…
That dove is a comfort…
I hope you won’t misinterpret any of this. I don’t live by Google searches, fortune cookies or horoscopes and I don’t believe my Momma was literally in any of these birds…if I believed that, ya’ll would see me running around with a big net and cage!
What I do believe is that God gives us daily gifts of Grace in His creation and we don’t need a guide book or special binoculars to see and understand…just our eyes and an open heart. It might be a bird, a flower, or a tree, …..or the way a leaf is laying perfectly positioned at our feet. We only need to be still, or at least slow our pace….and watch for it…
Awe in the Ordinary 
Oh Shelle, you blessed me and I pray more blessings on you. I love you very much 🙂
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