What is in a name? Why do we name our pets? Why do we give our children names that are either connected to old family names or have a special meaning to us? I believe it is for the same reason God named the people in the Bible. He wanted them to know that they were known and loved by Him. God even renamed some people in the Bible: Abram became Abraham, Sarai became Sarah, Simon became Peter and Saul became Paul.
I also name the hummingbirds that arrive every year. Some of them are repeat visitors to our neck of the woods. They all have very distinctive features. This year Momma Bear arrived first, on May 2nd. She is a mature lady who seems huge compared to the other hummers. Then Fat Neck arrived. He is a male who just seems a little on the plumper side and has a bigger neck compared to his buddies. The third hummingbird I noticed I named Tiny. He is a really minute male and his tail feathers always seem a little ungroomed. I laugh every time I see him, because he seems to be in too big of a hurry to wash up after getting up every morning!
So now you are wondering where this story is going? Well, this afternoon my husband Kevin left our kitchen sliding door open after returning from his run. I was sitting drinking my coffee, when suddenly I heard a commotion in the kitchen. Kevin muttered something about a hummingbird. I jumped up and ran to the kitchen. What I saw, took my breath away. It was Tiny, fluttering around inside my kitchen by the picture window!
How do you catch a hummingbird? Kevin first tried with his bare hands. Tiny was frantically fluttering and zipping from side to side of the picture window. I was trying to think of something to do, all the while wailing and begging Tiny to fly out the open door. Then I saw my vegetable colander basket and gave that to Kevin, so he could try to catch Tiny. But Tiny would have none of it. A few times he would take a quick break and sit down on the handle of the basket. However, just as Kevin would lower the basket and just about had Tiny in his hand, he would escape again.
I was torn between three choices: watching this absolutely amazing little bird’s acrobatic skills, trying to help Kevin to catch him, and filming the ordeal. As walked away to pick up my phone and start filming, Tiny escaped further into the kitchen and disappeared into the sky light opening. I could tell that he was getting tired. I was mesmerized by his skills of flying in all directions, even backward to try and find a way out. While I was watching with fascination, Kevin had run downstairs to get a ladder.
When he came back upstairs, he put up the ladder and climbed up, armed with a plastic water jug. Kevin’s plan was to use the water jug to try and scoop Tiny into it. He just about succeeded, when Tiny maneuvered his way out of the jug and sat down on the side of the jug’s handle. By this time, he must have been totally worn out, because I saw his heart beating so fast, that I thought he was just going to faint from exhaustion. Kevin slowly lowered his hand over Tiny and gently curled his fingers around Tiny’s body. I think Tiny was so worn out, that he didn’t have the energy to escape.
Kevin carried Tiny onto the porch to the hummingbird feeder there. He slowly opened his hand and Tiny zipped away. A few seconds later he was back and hungrily drinking from the feeder.
I asked Kevin what it felt like to hold a hummingbird in his hand. His answer was: “so soft and very dainty”. A few minutes later, I saw Tiny by the feeder in front of our bedroom window. He looked happy and a little unkempt – his normal self!
Pondering what happened in our kitchen this afternoon, I cannot help but remember how David described God as his shelter in Psalm 27: 5 “For he will hide me in his shelter in the day of trouble; he will conceal me under the cover of his tent; he will lift me high upon a rock”. God sometime protects us from harm by restricting us, only to then set us free, once He knows we are safe.
God's blessings until next time,
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