Tiny Miracles

“We can see God’s eternal power and divine nature by what He has created." ~ Romans 1:2

Jenna needed to exercise and get her kids out of the house for a little bit, so they went to the city park to run around and explore.  The sun’s warmth was too quickly interrupted when her most nature loving daughter called with great urgency and enthusiasm to come to the nearest tree.

Zooming in an out of a brightly colored birdfeeder was a hummingbird − their first sighting of the year!  ‘Little Hummer’ quickly became part of the 7-yeaar-old’s heart and mind, prompting library visit and a stack of bird identification and reference book.

Soon Emily christened her very own backyard hummingbird feeder for Little Hummer.  Whether he actually visited or not didn’t matter; Emily spent hours enthralled by all their aerial acrobatics.

“Mom!” Emily shouted.  She’d read volumes about these tiny birds.  “Did you know that their wings beat 50-80 times per second?  It can hover, fly backwards and sideways, and fly at speeds of more than 55 mph.”

“But,” she continued breathlessly, “That’s not even the coolest part!   Hummingbirds burn huge amounts of calories - the equivalent for us of 1,300 hamburgers a day, washed down with 65 quarts of water for cooling purposes.  To work at their energy level, our hearts would have to beat 1,260 times a minute.  Our body temperature would rise to 725°F and we’d burst into flames."

Mom interjected, “Of course we’re not designed to operate that way.  But the hummingbirds show great evidence of God’s careful design for its remarkable lifestyle.  He loves all creatures and this is one way He shows us that He’s real.”

“God equipped the hummingbird with a needle-like bill which penetrates deep into flowers to extract nectar.  It’s specially designed tongue takes about 13 licks per second.”  (Mom had apparently done a little reading on her own too). “Its unique wingbeat allows the tiny bird to move forward to pierce the flower, hover until it gets enough nectar, and fly backwards to remove its bill from the flower.”

Then Jenna put an exclamation point on her comments by adding:  “All the hummingbird’s features had to work perfectly from the start for it to have survived - long bill, special tongue, and special rapid wing-beat - in order to be able to gather its high energy food.”  It’s a miracle that only God could have done that so perfectly!”

Miracles surround us daily - the rising sun, the roar of the ocean, the cry of a newborn baby, even the sight of a hummingbird in flight.  Make them teachable moments filled with the joy of being present in a child’s life.    Keep the information fresh and relevant by teaching when it makes sense and always invite conversation.

Almighty Father, let me be Your miracle on earth.  Help me be a miracle of love, a miracle of kindness, and even a miracle in the life of another.  Let my soul soar through this life and into the next.  Amen