Patience (05/15/2024)

Spring is the time of year when the LORD’s creation massages my patience skills. I realize that for most, it is other times of the year with holidays such as Christmas when people just “can’t wait.” But for me it is spring. The natural world around me is waking up and changing so quickly that one can literally notice the growth in a single day. And that’s when my vigilance begins. When will the hummingbirds return to the feeder? When will the wrens show up looking for nesting quarters? Patience paid off this morning as I sat on my porch. I spied my first hummingbird of the season.

We set the feeder out on Mother’s Day; that is our tradition. But setting things up doesn’t bring instant reward. Patience. Every day as I sit on the porch, I am alert, watching for that “darting” creature whose speed catches my eye. And finally, this morning, there it was, darting in from the east, hovering for a moment, going in for a sip, zipping back for a moment, then landing seriously on the perch for a long and leisurely repast.

Every year, my husband puts out the hummingbird feeder and the 4-plex wren house because he knows how much I hope that they will be the hub of activity for a few months. The hope is there. Next comes the patience. Finally, that which I hope for comes.

As I sat and watched my first hummingbird this morning, I thanked the LORD for the gift of creation, for the joy His marvels bring to me. And then I thought about the hope and patience it stirs within me. And He used that moment to remind me of my forever hope, the hope of life in abundance with my LORD. How fitting that this sign of the LORD’s power and presence came to me the week of Pentecost. This Sunday we celebrate the coming of the Spirit to the apostles and Mary in the upper room. Our LORD is an awesome LORD.

Our hope in the LORD keeps us resilient, allows us to go the distance, to be patient as life unfolds and is lived. Life is full of surprises; but we have our faith, we are buoyed by our hope, and we are fueled by love. And we learn that the desire that stirs within us is our desire for our LORD and for union with the LORD, for home. And so, patiently and purposefully, we journey. It’s worth the effort.

As we continue on our journeys home, let us notice the surprises the LORD puts in our paths, let us celebrate them. Let us cling to our hope in the stretches that are challenging. Patience.

Until tomorrow, let us all love well.