Grapes Grace and Glory

Grace grapes and glory.

You may remember when I shared about how happy I was to plant the these "sticks in the ground."( Read Grapes and the Gardener here. ) No root, no leaves and certainly no fruit. I soaked them in a rooting hormone for a week, then babied and sweet-talked the sticks in their infancy with all the encouragement I could muster. You can imagine how very proud I was of their first tender pink leaves. They soon put out lovely little tendrils and held on to their line (clothes line strung between posts) for dear life. The more the vine held to the line, the more the foliage grew and gathered nourishment for the root system and the fruit to come later.

There was some pruning involved now and then. I didn’t enjoy it one little bit, cutting those beautiful vines that I encouraged to grow, yet it was necessary to train the vines into the proper position and to make the vine able to bear the fruit that was yet to come.

Grapes oon the vine.

The purpose of a grape vine is to (you guessed it) produce grapes! This was the year, and it was worth the wait. Cluster upon cluster of lovely purple pods of juiciness hung from vines that showed extraordinary brute strength and stamina to just to bear the load.

More pampering for each little cluster, flicking off Japanese beetles and spreading out the vines to avoid crowding. They were inspected every day for health and readiness for consumption, until this week when their color revealed they were ripe for the picking.

Brought from outside
into the master's house.

I didn’t have a way to explain to them why I was doing it but, I carefully selected and snipped these precious bundles and brought them in, so the canning could begin. They couldn’t have known they were chosen for a wonderful purpose. 

Their first stop is the sink for a washing. I gently removed each grape from its family stem and tossed them into a colander. Now, they appeared pretty clean so when a large hairy spider ran for his life, (over my finger) I almost did too. He didn’t make it. I did. (May he rest in peace.) Two more crawlies were discovered and removed, along with those grapes that did not mature.

Washed grapes,
minus a spider and two crawlies.

Their next stop was the cook pot. Now grapes have a tough skin, so it is necessary to crush them to get the best flavor. The crushing revealed the succulent insides that would ultimately provide the flavor for the jelly. The skin and seeds and insides are boiled all together for a good ten minutes. A full rolling boil that cannot be stirred down.

What is left behind.

That is when you get the first sniff of the real inside of the grapes. With the skin off and the heat rising, the aroma of each grape is released. Their grapeness filled the air and anyone nearing my kitchen would have no doubt of what was happening.

Then the grapes, skin, juice, seeds and all go into a strainer to remove the unnecessary parts. While the pulp will be used for another purpose, it will not go into the jelly. Then, this luscious juice goes back into the pot for another heating and mixing then carefully ladled into jars. The jars are then yep, placed into a boiling water bath.

Back into the heat.

The result? Beautiful sparkling grape jelly that will bring delight to our tongues for the coming year! Still grapes? Yes, but different.

Glorified grapes.
Refined and preserved.

I have felt like those grapes, maybe you have too. Pruned, snipped, crushed…and at times plunged into heat that seems unbearable. I have learned that God uses those times to make something better out of me. He truly is the Master Gardener Who tends to His vines. 

Things to remember when life gets hard

• God planted you in love. He will tend you and nurture you. He expects you to grow and mature.
• God will prune you with love. He wants you to be strong and be able to bear fruit.
• God will cause you to bear fruit in His time. He will bring you from outside, into His home.
• God has a plan for you. You may not understand it but, He wants to clean you and remove anything that would be harmful to you.
• He will allow you to be squeezed to the point of being crushed – what is inside comes out. It proves your faith is real to you and to those around you.
• He will allow you to go through a refining fire. It will cause you to release the unnecessary, the dross that contaminates you. The refining is a process that is repeated more than once but, His grace will not allow it to consume you.
• You will leave your skin and seeds behind. You will still be you, but you will be changed into something glorious! You will be sealed and preserved into His kingdom!

Dear Father,

Thank You for Your loving care through my life. Thank You for watching over me and tending me and pruning me when I needed it.

While I long to be beautiful in Your sight, I struggle in the times of the refining fire. It is hard. Thank You for staying by me side through it all. May I be an example of perseverance in my trials, that another would look to You for that same faith. I pray You will give comfort to those in the fire today. I pray You will encourage those who feel alone today in their time of testing. Thank You for the grace to endure it.

Father, may any fruit borne be to Your glory and leave seeds of righteousness sown for Your kingdom. I trust You with my eternity and I trust You with my today.

In Jesus’ name I pray.

~~~~

“In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ;” 1 Peter 1:6,7

“After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you.” 1 Peter 5:10

“Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial; for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.” James 1:12

Click here for more about me.

For more faith-filled stories, including a hummingbird I named Oscar, read the first chapter here.

For the rest of our story, find Oscar on these online retailers

Amazon

Westbow Press, a division of Thomas Nelson and Zondervan

Barnes and Noble

My hupomeno umbrella tree.

It is a short and somewhat unimpressive tree with a distinctive shape. The Chinaberry tree naturally grows with a rounded top and densely layered leaves on a multitude of branches, thus earning the common name of Umbrella tree. I can testify to the effectiveness in blocking out the oppressive Alabama summer heat. It is 15-20 degrees cooler under this tree than under the Maple trees twice its size!

This particular tree is a direct descendant of an Umbrella tree that grew at my grandparents’ home. Their children played under the shade, protected from the scorching heat. A sweet uncle gathered seeds and shared as a reminder of that precious memory.  

At this time of year, not only does it provide wonderful shade, it also has lovely and fragrant blooms. When visitors come into our garden area, it only takes a few seconds for them to look around to try to find the source of the sweetness permeating the air. They usually expect to find honeysuckle or lilac. When they follow their nose, they arrive under the umbrella tree and are rewarded with the full effect of hundreds of little purple and white bloomers mostly visible from beneath, looking up.  It is a heavenly aroma; entirely worth the search.  From a distance, the dainty blossoms are almost invisible, but from under the tree, they hang in clusters of purple striped beauty. A double blessing from under the tree!

I like to call it my “hupomeno tree.”  If that sounds like Greek to you, it is!  Hupomeno is the Greek word transliterated “endurance, patience and abide under”.  It is used in the first chapter of James as we are told to “consider it all joy when we encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.”  These trials come in the form of suffering, pain, and difficult situations. During these times it is common to feel alone, abandoned, and weak. That is where the hupomeno comes in!  Enduring the situation may be impossible humanly speaking, BUT God provides a covering, a place under which we can abide, in order to get through the trial and prove (grow) our faith in Him.

Asa was an Old Testament king “who did good and right in the sight of the LORD, his God.” 2 Chronicles 14:2. When his army of 300,000 was outnumbered by an opposing army of a million, he called out to God and God shattered the opposing army. Asa had an insurmountable problem in front of him, and responded by calling on and trusting God. God proved He is worthy trust, Asa’s then and ours now. “The eyes of the LORD move to and fro throughout the earth that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His.” 2 Chronicles 16:9. 

Asa was reminded “the LORD is with you when you are with Him. And if you seek Him, He will let you find Him; but if you forsake him, He will forsake you…in their distress they turned to the Lord God of Israel, and they sought Him, and He let them find Him…be strong and do not lose courage, for there is reward for your work.” 2 Chronicles 15:2,4,7. Even after he relied upon God and saw Him work, and he was reminded to continue to seek God, yet he didn’t. Some years later he was in a situation and tried to resolve it with silver and gold and a treaty instead of seeking God. He did not rely on God, acted foolishly and he did not win that battle.  

In the New Testament, the book of 1 Peter echoes the theme of James in that we can “greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” 1Peter 1:6,7.  Did you catch it? The result of the testing of our faith will be when He returns will be praise and glory and honor! Now that is worth rejoicing about! Like a woman in the midst of childbirth looks forward to the outcome – a child – she eagerly endures the temporary suffering.

Some lessons I have learned under the hupomeno/umbrella tree;

• God is able to help me endure every trial in my life (just as this type tree sheltered my ancestors) because He is the same, yesterday, today and forever.

• God (like this tree) is near the ground to be close to you and surround you and protect you.

• God will provide blessing during the trial if you look up to Him.   

• When you look up, focus on the blooming blessings rather than the storm around you.

• The storm will come to an end.

• Other storms will come. Remember to seek God (stay near the tree).

• Invite someone to join you there.

• Share some seeds for more trees to be planted.

• Abide and endure to the end – there is a reward.

Father in Heaven,

How thankful we are for the reminders all around us of Your faithfulness. We pray that You will help us abide under Your love to persevere and endure with patience the times of testing in our lives. Help us remember the rewards that await at the end, and of the blessing of Your presence during these difficulties.

I pray that the person reading this right now will seek You and find You and rely upon You as their stronghold for the rest of their life.  

Thank You for using this little tree to teach me. Spread the seeds of truth as You will.

Have you been through a trial when God saw you through? Are you in one now? Your comments are always welcome and encourage us!

Click here for more about me

For more true stories of faith including a precious hummingbird I named Oscar, 

click here to read 1st chapter FREE!

 For the rest of the story, find Oscar on   Amazon.com ,  

Westbow Press 

a division of Thomas Nelson and Zondervan, and

 Barnes and Noble.com

  

One Wing Out and Ready to Fly, a Ladybug Lesson

Ladybug lesson

Not a “humbug”, just a little beetle. This cute little fella’ caught my attention while he and I were walking along our garden path. I watched him for a block or two (pathway blocks, that is). I noticed he had one wing out, so I thought he was about to take flight. But, he just kept walking, plodding along the path, one wing up.

Then he found this long tendril of monkey grass that reached down to his path and took him to new heights. It served as a bridge to him to explore another area of the garden. He took the bridge and disappeared into the jungle of monkey grass and mint that surrounds our little pond. A new adventure I’m sure, for a brave little beetle.

As a Christian, if I had wings, I would have one in the air too, ready to take flight to the place where there will be no more pain, tears, suffering…and we will be with Him. Streets of gold, pearly gates, the tree of life all call to me and I eagerly await being there. I understand the weight of carrying hurt, pain, and suffering. We all feel it to some extent, and some seem to be asked to carry more than their share. It can leave us all ready to fly away from it all.

Pain not only hurts, it adds insult to injury by telling us lies like “You are all alone. No one cares or has experienced or understands the pain you have…” Special days and holidays bully in to multiply our suffering even more. They hold before us things and people in the past that we mourn, while it seems everyone else has their cup filled with joy. We see our limitations and compare to others going full steam like that pink drummer-bunny. We remember hopes and dreams that never came to be…chronic pain and suffering that seem to have no end in sight…all mount up like bricks one on top of another on top of us making us ready to just leave it all behind – if we could just fly away.  The temptation is real, but what blessings we would miss if we were exempt from pain.

You may have far more experience with pain and suffering than do I, but here are a couple of blessings I have experienced.

#1 He draws me nearer to Himself. When I have no answers, no relief, no hope…the only place to go is on my knees to Him. It is really a good place to be. He wraps me in His arms with love like no other. He holds me close and gives me strength and peace that only He has. It has absolutely been the most traumatic and painful times in my life that have grown me closer to Him. He WILL walk you through it too. He is faithful like that.

#2 He uses us to show others how to go through pain. While Christians have access to this unending reservoir of life-giving hope, non-believers do not. They need to see and hear and have a living example of how to do it, how to live in a difficult circumstance. And how to live with hope and love and joy even in the midst of suffering. Many have been shown the way by someone living it out, someone just like you.

Is it easy? N.O. 

Paul felt the weight of being stoned, beaten, jailed, persecuted…and like any of us, he longed for it to end. “If I am to live on in the flesh, this will mean fruitful labor for me; and I do not know which to choose.  But I am hard-pressed from both directions, having the desire to depart and be with Christ, for that is much better; yet to remain on in the flesh is more necessary for your sake. And convinced of this, I know that I shall remain and continue with you all for your progress and joy in the faith.” Philippians 1:21-25 He chose the will of God over his comfort and desires.

Jesus was the perfect example of enduring. He knew of the brutal treatment and death He was about to face. So, He prayed. He (like all humans) knew the agony of pain and He prayed “if it is possible, let this cup (of suffering) pass from Me…”  But, that is not how His prayer ended. “…yet not as I will, but as Thou wilt.”  God’s plan was more important to Jesus, than His temporary suffering.

It helps us too, to have an eternal perspective. This too shall pass, eternity doesn’t.  When we focus on our future, our eternity, it makes the burdens of today easier to carry. Christians will be forever in the presence of the Creator, and in heaven so glorious there is no comparison to the experience we have here on earth!

Paul and Jesus left examples for us today. They both continued on the path God set before them, even though it involved intense personal suffering.  It’s our turn to be examples now. There are many others going through times of hurt and need to see Him and His hand at work. Could it be that YOU could be used like Paul to reach others who need to see faith being lived out? Could YOU walk alongside someone who needs a word of encouragement? Not as a pity partner, but as an encourager. When they see that you can walk through it, so can they - when you both rely on God.

Yep, I’m ready to go into eternity! BUT, I’m still here in the temporary…So, what do I do until then? If we take an example from this little bug -

#1 Raise your hand (or wing)

to reach out to Him,

to remind yourself this is temporary, and it WILL pass

to reach out to help someone else. 

#2 Be prepared to leave or stay. Know your God and be willing to go and do whatever He asks, whether His purpose is for you is to go or stay. HINT-you are reading this, so this means YOU are staying for now.

#3 Plod with purpose. Put one foot in front of the other. Keep doing what He has for you to do. You will step into eternity in His timing. Meanwhile, find someone to encourage who needs to see the hand of God at work.

Father in heaven

We are so very thankful that You loved us so much that even though You could have abandoned us and the pain, You were willing to stay and endure suffering and grief beyond anything we can imagine, for our sake.

We find ourselves in a world of suffering and look to You for help. Help us to remember to live as You did, seeking to show others the way. Help us to see even more ways to show You to this dark and lonely world.

I pray You will strengthen the person reading this now, with Your strong and mighty arm. I pray You give them peace and courage and direction for the life of purpose You designed for them. Thank You for showing us encouragement even in the tiniest of things around us, and help us to be an encouragement while we are here.

                                           

My wing is up and I am looking to You, ready to go or stay according to Your plan and desire for me. Thank You for being with me and guiding my path.

*  *  * 

Click here for more about me

More stories of faith for you! 

Click here to see Oscar on Amazon

Click here to see The Wisdom Tree on Amazon

Want to be a pansy with me?

Smiling pansy.

If you know anything at all about me you know that I have a thing for bloomers.  This one is so inspiring it makes me want to be one too! Just look at its happy little smile on fancy yellow cheeks! Makes me want to smile right back at it! (Go ahead, you know you want to.) There, now wasn’t that fun?

Pansies are like that; they smile right in the middle of winter when everyone else is locked up tight refusing to show their bloomers. If I could give you a 360 degree view of this lone bloomer, it is hanging from a tree (near the kitchen window) that has dropped all its leaves, over a bed of grass that is grumbling about the temperature and packing its leaves to go underground for a few months, and alongside some Mexican petunias that shriveled at the first breeze of frost. Above, below and all around this little basket are the faint of heart that gave up when winter stepped foot into the yard.

While many think of pansies as weaklings and use their name as an insult, I beg to differ. If I were to be given a flower name “Rose” or “Violet” would be lovely. They have pretty blossoms and delightful fragrances. But, I think I might just choose to be “Pansy.” The kind of pansy like this little guy, blooming for all its worth right in the middle of winter when everyone else has given up.

It can’t be easy. All the others withered away for a reason. Winter is hard. It takes great courage and strength to grow, much less bloom under such circumstances.

What does God expect from us in hard times? First Thessalonians 5:11 – 26 was written to a group that was “mistreated”, “suffering affliction,” “much tribulation”, and “amid much opposition.”  They were told;

• Encourage one another.
• Build up one another.
• Live in peace with one another.
• See that no one repay with evil for evil, but always seek after that which is good for one another and for all men.
•  Rejoice always
•  In everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
•  Greet one another with a holy kiss.

Does it seem to you that this little smiling face could be greeting us “with a holy kiss”? A smile from God, winter is here – rejoice. It is hard –rejoice. God is at work – give thanks.  Could it be that He is reminding us through a dainty (but strong) flower that we are an encouragement to others when we give thanks, rejoice and smile?

Look closely at the basket again. Do you see it? There is a viola and another pansy trying to bloom right next to him! AND, a sunflower coming up too! When we give praise, rejoice and stand strong, it give others the courage and strength to do the same!

   Courage is contagious.

    Praise is contagious.

   Smiles are contagious.

Which are you willing to share today? Come on, be a pansy with me!  

Father in heaven,

We see reminders of Your love for us in all creation. Thank You for loving us before we even came to know You. Thank You for encouraging and sustaining us through hard times. Give us strength and courage to rejoice and give You thanks through it all. Let us be a smiling beacon of Your love to someone who needs it today.

As always, I encourage you to leave comments below. Your words are not only an encouragement to me but to all who read them!

Blessings!

 About me - about.me/Lisawsmith57

 Find more stories of faith in

 Oscar the Extraordinary Hummingbird

and Other Tales From Life In My Father's World

 Amazon - http://www.amazon.com/Oscar-Extraordinary-Hummingbird-Other-Fathers/dp/1490882197/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1434117054&sr=1-1

Westbow Press -http://bookstore.westbowpress.com/Products/SKU-000990255/Oscar-the-Extraordinary-Hummingbird.aspx
Barnes and Noble - http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/oscar-the-extraordinary-hummingbird-lisa-worthey-smith/1122075111?ean=9781490882178

Dogwood Buds and Winter Woes

It just didn’t seem fair. The little tree is only a few years old, and finally big enough to set blooms for the coming spring, then the weather turns cold. If this winter is anything like the last couple of winters, it could be brutally cold. Well, brutally cold for Alabama could mean temperatures below zero for a few days, and a snow here and there. Feels brutal to us.   

We have a love of dogwoods; pink, white, wild and naturalized - they seem to epitomize spring. The timing is such that their blooms usually coincide with Easter. With their blooms in the shape of a cross, and the tip of each petal seeming to bear the hole of a nail, and the rusty blood stains of the One who bore them, even a golden crown in the center, this tree speaks of sacrifice, and resurrection. They give their own quiet testimony with spectacular beauty.

The blooms also produce marvelous bright red seeds for the next generation of dogwoods…and the cardinals. It is a beautiful sight when everything seems grey and lifeless to have these brightly adorned feathered friends arrive for their annual snacks. To reward me for the tasty seeds, they help with the planting and distribution process, thus I have dogwood seedlings to share nearly every year. It is a nice arrangement; a recurring contract we have with them.

This is one of those seedlings I gingerly transplanted a few years ago into a lush and heavily mulched flower bed.  It is now about as tall as I am. This is the very first time is has set blooms and frost is near.  So, I worry. Will the cold burn the bloomers off before they even have a chance to bloom? I should know better. This is the way they are designed, set buds in the fall, bloom in the spring. God has made provision for them to endure the winter BEFORE they bloom.

He does that with us too. He plants us, cares for us, gives us a job and the ability to endure through whatever it takes to perform that job. He might even allow us to go through a hard time before we can perform our job. It might help us build roots before we bloom, look to Him, be filled with Him, knowing He will provide whatever we need to endure and bloom at the right time. He is good like that.

I thought about having a little talk with them, to let them know they would be OK, that they had a wonderful surprise coming after the winter, and God would most certainly take good care of them until then. Somehow, they seemed to already know. They stand in our little garden, without a single complaint or worry, waiting patiently, silently, knowing God will take care of them and being prepared to testify to the world about His tremendous work that changed everything! I realized they are tougher than they look. You and I are too – when we rely on Him.

Thank You dearest heavenly Father for such beauty in Your Creation. Thank You for giving us such wonderful examples of Your provision, even when the hard times come. Thank You for promises of springtime blooms that speak of what You have done and what You ask us to do. Help us to look to You and hold on to You so that we will be able to bloom at the proper time, glorify our Creator, and leave seeds for those to come!

https://about.me/lisawsmith57

Interested in more stories of faith? Read

Click here to see The Wisdom Tree on Amazon

Click here to see Oscar on Amazon

Introducing Oscar The Extraordinary Hummingbird

Click here for 50 Indie Books Worth Reading 2016.
Amazon link here.

This little book is a collection of stories which includes the chronicle of a tiny hummingbird and the unlikely friendship he and I shared. Through the time we spent together, God used Oscar to teach me many things about

life,

suffering, and

joy in the midst of it all.

I remain amazed that He chose this itty bitty bird and so many precious, yet seemingly insignificant, things within His Creation to demonstrate such profound spiritual truths to me, and I am delighted to share these simple stories with you.

May you always take time to see God

 in the little things.

They may become your

biggest treasures!

All the tales within this book are true. The simple parable-type lessons offered here about life in my Father’s world have touched my soul, and I pray that your heart will likewise be enriched by reading them. Inside you will become acquainted with Oscar, the sweetest little hummingbird you ever could meet, along with some fishy characters, and you will stroll with me through the beauty and splendor of the garden. Together we will explore patterns and truths found in Creation which point us to a deeper understanding of our Creator. 

Chapter 1 - A Tiny Treasure

When I first spotted the mysterious wad, immediately I had grand hopes of discovering some sort of little treasure. I am familiar with the ending of the curious cat but was compelled to investigate nonetheless. By the size and shape it could have been an owl pellet! Because owls have no teeth with which to chew their meals, they swallow them whole. They also–uhm–“release” the undigested portion whole, in a pellet form, just about the size of this suspicious little gem. I drew closer to the twisted glob and realized it wasn’t what I hoped for at all.  

Oh, no! I thought. Horrified, I instantly reached down to him. We have hosted many hummingbirds throughout the spring and summer, and this appeared to be one that met an untimely demise. His little body was twisted in an unnatural position. His poor, tiny head had been stripped of all feathers on top and on one side, revealing only raw, purple and blue skin. There appeared to be fishing line tangled all around his mouth. His condition suggested he might have been run over by a lawn mower. I gingerly lifted up the bruised and limp little bird and cradled him in the palm of my hand, amazed at the beauty of the tiny creature and sorry for the suffering he must have endured. 

Against all hope, I became aware of a faint, rapid thumping of a little heartbeat against my hand. Thankful for the opportunity to comfort him in his final moments of life, I ever so gently stroked his broken little body and brought him close to my face while whispering, God knows when a sparrow falls[i], and He knows all about little hummingbirds, too. Realistically, it was more a prayer to comfort me than an expectation that he actually understood what I had said to him. Fighting back tears, I blew softly into his face to let him know he was not alone.  He blinked his eye - the one that wasn’t swollen shut. Yes, he heard me, and he knew I was there with him and perhaps he understood that God was as well. 

I don’t know how much animals understand. I do know my responsibility, according to the Word of God in the book of Genesis, is to “rule[ii] over (or have dominion over) the creatures of the earth.” Surely this would include taking care of one who has fallen. God spared him long enough for me to comfort him a bit, and for that, I was grateful. I just absolutely love the way God works and have found that His timing is perfect, always.

Continuing to bathe him with my warm breath, I slowly and as tenderly as possible, began to untangle him from the fishing line in and around his mouth. My desire was to give him as much comfort as possible. He blinked again and tried to lift his poor, bruised, and bald little head.  

As the untangling progressed, it became apparent that the “line” was his tongue! Poor little fellow! Bless his sweet little heart! He must have wondered, Why is this woman pulling on my tongue?  He was having a bad enough day already without me tugging on his tongue, of all things.  I chuckled at the absurdity and apologized, Sorry about that, little guy!

Gradually, he regained consciousness and his tongue retracted into its proper place. He looked at me, with his one good eye - not with fear but rather with curiosity.  I continued to examine him for injuries and found that one wing was not in the correct position, and a tiny spot of blood was on the front of his neck. So, still holding him in one hand, I took a paper towel with the other hand and dampened one corner, folding it over to make a swab to lightly sponge his wounds. I stroked and tucked the tiny wing back into the proper position. 

By now, he was more conscious than not but still too weak to resist my “mothering.” He didn’t have the strength to fly, but he did seem content to rest in the warmth of my hand. 

Because most acquaintances begin with an exchange of names, I, not knowing his hummingbird name, decided to call him Oscar.  You know, the Grouch.  Both are green, a mess, and more than a little grumpy.  It seemed to fit.

Because of the severity of his injuries, I feared he would perish before I could document this precious moment so, while he was still alive I took a few pictures of Oscar in my hand. I marveled at the opportunity to hold such a small, magnificent creature. I continued to assure him of my intention to help him to the very best of my ability. He was truly a pitiful sight - tiny, helpless, bruised, and bald - but alive!

Link to Amazon.com

See what others thought about Oscar on this video.

Click here for more about me

Want to read the rest of our story?

Amazon link here

---

[i] Matthew 10:29

[ii] Genesis 1:26, Psalm 8:6-8