Sitting in the yard for the first time in several weeks,I was struck by the bright colors of the trumpet vine that covers our fence. I looked with the camera and snapped this shot of the light bouncing on the flowers and leaves.
And then, I looked again – and this is what I saw.
We have a pair of orioles who visit our yard every spring.
They are very, very shy, coming out carefully to sip the nectar from the hundreds of red flowers all around our yard.
This is the male, who is of course, much showier than his mate. I was about 30 feet away and was struck, as I often am, at how the birds teach me about life. This boy had a job to do – suck the nectar out of that flower – and he did it with gusto, sitting in the fading afternoon light with no desire to call attention to himself.
Nevertheless, I paid him a great deal of attention – for the 10 seconds he allowed me to peek at him.
He was most definitely the brightest and most beautiful part of my day yesterday, doing exactly what God created him to do – every second of it shedding God-glory like tiny flecks of glitter as he flitted across my line of vision.
“As you learn more and more how God works,
you will learn how to do your work.
We pray that you’ll have the strength
to stick it out over the long haul—
not the grim strength of gritting your teeth
but the glory-strength God gives.
It is strength that endures the unendurable
and spills over into joy,
thanking the Father who makes us strong enough
to take part in everything bright and beautiful
that he has for us.”
Colossians 1:9-10, The Message
May the rest of your weekend be layered with glimpses of the bright and beautiful things God has for you.
Joining with Sandy King for her Still Saturday
and Deidra Riggs for her Sunday invitation.
Oh, Diana. I’ve been stuck in the “grim strength” rather than the “glory strength” for some time.
I know the ‘grim’ strength, too, Megan. I do. And I’m here to tell you it does end. Sometimes it takes longer than we would wish, but it does. And even in the midst of that grimness, there are moments of glory – you’ve written of some recently so I know you know what I mean. Praying for relief – and for eyes to see, 10 seconds at a time.
Love the version of this verse, it’s lesson and encouragement. Beautiful lesson from the oriole, too (and from you). Thank you. The glory strength…spilled over into joy. Wow.
Thanks for stopping by, Maureen. If you want to see some amazing bird pictures, though – go over to Patricia Hunter’s place at Pollywog Creek. AMAZING. And always, Sandra Heska King has gorgeous shots of her feathered friends.
Wow. What a fabulous bird. I’m glad you caught the moment.
Only He can make it possible to endure the unendurable. This is simply amazing Diana. Oh the Master Artist; He does make all things with such beauty.
Thanks, Cindy – it is you behind that moniker, right?? I’m glad I caught the moment, too. He is a favorite of ours.
So true, Linda. It never ceases to amaze me that folks can take that verse of Paul’s – which is about temptation – and blithely try to apply it to trials we’re facing. We DO experience more than we can bear, sometimes with alarming frequency. Only as we grasp in the dark for God’s presence can we find our way through the murk, one hesitant footfall after the next. Thanks for stopping by, friend. During dark and difficult times, it is these brief glimpses of glory and beauty that keep us going. Just now, I’m not in a dark place – but I sure have been at times. And my constant prayer during those times – and the good times, too – is, “Lord, give me eyes to see you…even in the ugly, show me your beauty.” And thankfully, God is faithful to answer those cries. And creatures like these small birds are often the way in which I am reminded that God is the creator of good and beautiful things – if we just see them. If we just see them.
Glad you are enjoying some quiet.
Just returned from 10 days in Seattle. Trying to catch up.
Is that what your summer looks like? Back and forth to Seattle? Because you were just there 3-4 weeks ago, right? Good thing Seattle is such a great place to visit! And aside from those minute in the yard on Friday, it’s been a CRAZY busy weekend. We’re getting ready for vacation – leaving Tuesday a.m. for 4 days in Florida and a week on St. Thomas – so we’re squeezing in family visits, small group, etc.
Beautiful!! We are so blessed by nature and His Creations!!
Thanks so much for stopping by, Kerry!
A visual blessing, for sure. I’ve never seen an oriole here. Such spectacular colour! So many of God’s critters are really amazing, aren’t they?
Indeed they are, Carol. Did you see Patricia Hunter’s pictures taken at her feeder? Amazing. And last month, she had a small snapshot on the banner bar of a bird with feathers of every color in the rainbow – never seen anything quite like that. Thanks for coming by. LOVED your squirrels this weekend. That’s our problem with feeders, actually. We have armies of squirrels in these parts (and gophers, rats and other nasty rodent types) and they gobble up all the feed before the birds have a chance.
What a special time for you to see the overwhelmingly lovely flowers and then the hard-working visitor. Loved seeing it “with” you.
Thanks, Joanne – appreciate your stopping by.
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