Hummingbirds and Humility

Ya’ll! Have you seen the viral video of the gal trying to rescue the squirrel from her backyard blow-up pool? She is holding a chair by the legs and trying to coax the swimming squirrel onto the back of the chair. She says things like, “Get on the chair, squirrel. I’m trying to save you, squirrel.”

My husband sent me the video and said, “That’s you!” It kind of is.

If you’ve been reading my stuff for any length of time, you know I’ve tried to save bunnies, turtles (and college boys) on the road, frogs in my pool, and hummingbirds from the jaw of my late dog, Copper. RIP, Copper.

My hummingbird feeder this year is positioned so that, hopefully, hawks won’t turn it into a hawk feeder by swooping in and snatching the tiny, unsuspecting hummers off of the feeder. (It’s happened a few times.) Hopefully, the feeder is also far enough away from my windows that they won’t fly into them. I love watching the tiny birds dart about, land on the feeder, fill up, and fly away.

I’m always amazed there seems to be one bully bird. He sits on the top of the shepherd’s hook, which holds the feeder and chases off the other birds that come to feed. He acts like he owns the feeder. I’ve wondered why the other birds don’t gang up on him. He can’t chase them all. Sometimes, I swear they work together to distract the self-proclaimed King Bird so they can take turns getting to the feeder.

I haven’t seen a bird establish dominance with my new feeder, but the other day, I watched two hummingbirds face off. Two birds were on opposite sides of the feeder, and it seemed like suddenly, one realized the other one was there and started to chase the other bird away. But “other bird” wasn’t having it. They faced off and flew straight up in the air. It looked like a hummingbird form of “chicken.” Neither one was going to give in. They flew facing each other until they were up and out of sight. So, neither one got to feed.

Silly birds. There is plenty of room at the feeder. They can both perch and drink. But, no, they have to be the only ones using the feeder.

Last week, I watched two hummers chase each other all over my friend’s West Texas backyard. She has a huge Desert Willow tree and tons of Yucca plants with a gazillion flowers fat with nectar. There is plenty for two tiny birds to share, but…NO! They have to fly around at top speed—FIGHTING!

Silly birds.

Sometimes, people can be silly like that, too.

I recently sat in a meeting for a non-profit, and there was a discussion about another non-profit that would start doing what we were doing. To be completely honest, at first, I felt territorial. I’m not sure why, but I did. The truth is that there is plenty of room at the feeder. We can all work together to achieve the same goal.

This week, I met a woman who runs a non-profit that matches mothers with expectant moms in mentoring situations. She told me she was struggling to find churches that would let her come and share about her ministry. My heart went out to her. She’s trying to find women who can help other women be better moms but keeps hitting a roadblock. Why? Are churches afraid it will deplete their own volunteer base?

Plenty of room at the feeder.

This doesn’t just happen in the ministry setting. It occurs in business settings, too. Ever wonder why there are so many fast-food chicken restaurants or sandwich shops? Apparently, we need a lot. Chicken with biscuits, chicken with waffle fries, or spicy chicken. Sandwiches with mayo or oil and vinegar. Sandwiches with soft bread or toasted bread. I get it.

Plenty of room at the feeder.

I vow to welcome any non-profit designed to serve in the realm I serve. I vow to work together for the greater good – to show the love of Jesus to those who are hurting, scared, feel alone, or forgotten.

I welcome others to the feeder.

Thank you, Lord, for the hummingbirds who taught me a lesson.

Note: My friend, Terri Pyle, took these fantastic hummingbird pictures. She is a talented photographer who takes pictures as a hobby and graciously allowed me to showcase just a tad of her work.