I really try not to put a big light on myself as a person and I don’t care what critics and naysayers think about me. But I do not shy away from holding up my light rather than hiding it under a bushel. The light that I hold up is my Savior, Jesus Christ, and what He has done for me in my life. And maybe one day, I will share everything that I have seen and heard, but today I feel impressed to share one small experience.

It was May 6, 2008 when I was in my garage doing some work, as well as in the yard getting my sprinkler system fixed. I heard something, which startled me and when I looked up I saw a hummingbird hovering around the ceiling. It was the rapid flapping that had caught my attention. It flew back and forth trying to find a way out. The garage has a twelve foot high ceiling so the top of the main garage door opening, which was shielded by the open door, which hung above me, was a good four feet below the ceiling line.

It darted back and forth and it didn’t take long to realize that there was no way it would find it’s way out. I grabbed my snow shovel and lifted it up to try and guide it in the right direction, but all I managed to do was frighten it. Still I tried gently coaxing it for a while, hoping that I could get it to fly low enough to see the giant 8’x16′ garage door opening and fly outside. It just wasn’t working. I kept trying to think of different approaches, but there simply wasn’t one that wouldn’t hurt it or even scare it more.

I know that the Lord is aware of all His creatures including this little hummingbird. I figured the simplest, though not necessarily the easiest way to do this was to take it in my hand and walk outside with it and release it. I prayed to God and I told Him that I couldn’t think of any other way to help it. Anything that finds its way into my garage eventually dies from the heat in the summer and I didn’t want the the hummingbird to die, too, so I asked for help. I needed this little bird to trust me.

Just as soon as I had prayed, the hummingbird landed on a wire hanging above the motor of my garage door opener. It sat there and just looked at me. I knew this was my chance. I slowly climbed up on the hood of my car and crawled up the windshield towards it as it looked straight at me. By now I was just a few feet away from it. I reached past the garage door motor and wrapped my hand around its little body. I braced myself, being in a awkward position, to keep from falling or sliding off my car and with my other hand I gently unwrapped its tiny feet from the wire as it did not seem to want to let go.

I was elated as I looked at the little guy just barely poking its head through my fingers. I couldn’t get over how tiny it was inside my hand. I carefully climbed back down my car and walked outside as it peeked through my fingers. It was a beautiful iridescent green in color. I opened my hand and watched it fly away. It was such a cool experience! I was thankful that God answered my prayer and I know that He cares about all of His creatures, even as tiny as a hummingbird. Because of this and many other personal experiences, I know that anything that we ask of God is granted us, if it is expedient in Him, if we ask in faith. Not all prayers are answered as quickly. I’ve literally spent hours at a time on my knees praying before finally receiving an answer. This particular experience at this particular point in my life reassured me that God is aware of me.

Edit: It’s been over a year since I published this post that the Lord taught me why He gave me this experience. Like the hummingbird, I have always struggled to be attentive. And although I am a tiny part of this world, I am not insignificant. Most importantly, it has taught me the importance of being still so that I can know God. I have learned to recognize His hand in my life. That little hummingbird, prone to getting itself into trouble is me.