A totem for me?

"...the hummingbird is taken to be a symbol of resurrection...
for many people, the hummingbird is the creature that opens the heart...
When it becomes our totem, the hummingbird teaches us to laugh and enjoy the creation, to appreciate the magic of being alive, and the truth of beauty..."

I had sat down on an old picnic table along the intersection of a back road and a hiking trail to make some notes of my thoughts. As of late there was much going through my mind on re-birth and new beginnings...not as in changing directions or locations or jobs...just a rejuvenating of my vitality and attention to life. For instance where I'd previously seen a void, now there was energy. The words "...so we may have life and have it abundantly..." came to mind and I turned my direction to the faithfulness of God in everything. Below is how it transpired:

How gracious is this? The plants give us proof of it. Even after they've withered and died, the beauty and abundance carries on...

Whether through the seed carried off in the over-stuffed beak of a hungry cardinal, or from the nutrients it leaves behind from its decaying body; we will be blessed once again by the ever present Creator in all His faithfulness.

I praise and give glory to this Trinity, who showers me with sights that inspire awe and wonder. It would be so enriching to have my own eyes display to others what has been open to me in this moment! At first a heavy strumming increased in tone and volume, nearing my table. Then movement caught my eye. Finally I focused on the image and my senses brimmed with excitement as a hummingbird was greeting me. She first announced her arrival with the steady humming of the air around her wings, then the offer of a somewhat distant - but clear - view of her as she perched in a branch about 15 feet above my head.

This was indeed a blessing! She watched as I wrote. More birds began to arrive and fill my vision. She sat there for nearly 20 minutes. A blue jay joined me on the forest floor and a pair of cardinals entertained me in the distance with an aerial battle of supremacy, perhaps over a nesting female? As all things happen, the time to leave came upon me. I still had a walk up hill to the office, but it would be that much more pleasant with these sights and sounds embedded in my soul. Thank you, God, for sending me this tiny messenger of life and resurrection to confirm that what I started to write about - new, abundant life, was the right thing to do.