I was standing in the back yard the other day, watching the hummingbirds get a refreshing drink at our feeder.   Two of them were divebombing each other, fighting for the water.  Hummers are notoriously territorial and often fight to protect their own water source.

At the time, our feeder was full of sweet water.  And so, I said to the two as they flew by me, "Hey, there's plenty for both of you."  I guess my reasoning didn't matter; they still fought about it.

Of course, nature has built into them this whole sense of territory, and my reasoning could not change that.

And I wondered... are humans like that, too?  And I felt an overwhelming sense of God, creation, something yell into me, "NO!"

One of the wonders of being human is the ability to reason, to change, to act intentionally, rather than just react naturally.

And I prayed... "God, help us humans get along better than these two hummingbirds."

We can do better.  We must do better.

Some things can't be changed.  But we can be changed, and we can cause change.

So, with all the fighting that is going on in our world (and in our minds, families, workspaces, neighborhoods, spirits, etc), I invite you to be a human, not a hummingbird.

"Be the Change you want to see in the World."  Ghandi


And by the way, in the month of June, I will not be doing our Wednesday Messages.  I'll be away on a mission trip with the youth of the church in the first week of June, and then I'll be on a two-week vacation.  So, during the month of June, I'll take a break.   Wednesday messages will be back in July.

 

Peace in our journeys,

Pastor Steve Melde