The windows were going to be cleaner than they’d been in years because of the theory of “One thing leads to another.” I’d awakened with a single thought: “I’m tired of looking through the solar screens to see our resident hummingbirds!” Why continue to complain when you can take action?

Morning coffee finished and still in my sleep shirt, I headed out to the deck where I removed the dark grey screens from our three kitchen/dining area windows. In doing so, however, I noted the accumulated filth around and on the windows themselves. That’s when my path became clear.

By now, I’d swept around the windows to remove the spider webs, dead bugs, and sand and the heat had begun. My “break” lasted only until I noticed the vast array of dirt-coated water spots that now obscured my view. It became clear that there was much more work to be done!

To abbreviate this a bit, as I sat inside sipping ice water and resting, something hit the window! A beautiful little hummer had flown into it, then, confused, toward another window and right to the skylight over the porch and decking! Trying to fly upward toward the sky he saw battered him into exhaustion so occasionally he rested on a tiny ledge, panting, until he could try again and again. I simply could not be the cause of the little bird’s death and the thought of my clean windows having played a huge part screamed at my heart.

As I do so often, I took the problem to my Lord for I had to help the little guy! One thought led to another and I began to weep. I was willing to do anything to save the frightened, helpless creature. God had sent His precious Son to save me and you so surely I could rescue one little hummingbird! Though my brain is limited, an idea began to hatch.

What was needed became obvious when I saw the long-handled fishing net that hubby uses when the boys are visiting. After covering the netting tightly with a pillowcase I asked God to help me. The exhausted little bird, hesitantly at first, saw what he needed to do. Getting the courage that was needed took a few minutes but he finally eased his little feet around the cloth-covered rim of the net as I spoke softly to him and continued to pray.

No prayer is wasted! Not even those sent up for a tiny bird in distress. The little guy trusted me enough to finally step onto the loop at the end of a pole. Now, more tears flowed when he actually stayed on as I moved the net slowly down…then out from under the overhang. Once he saw that he was under the open, real sky again, he was gone.

Yes, the hummer was gone from sight but not from mind. He’d been shown the way to safety but (like us all) he first had to put his trust in someone outside of himself. Someone who loved him for the creature he was and someone who was willing to go that “extra mile.” Jesus Christ did that for you and me in performing a single act of unconditional love.

Thank you, Lord, for the reminder