By Karen Y. Stevens

It’s such a sad event to see the Hummingbirds migrating to the south.

What’s up with that? I thought we were the south?

I was ill the entire week before, so I did not write an article for last weekend. I received nice text and notes, from people stating they missed my column, so thanks to those who called.

God has been speaking to me all month about where my spiritual life has moved to.

Lysa Terkeurst, author of “Finding I Am”, put it like this: Sheep wonder off very easily. That one sheep probably is busy eating grass, and doesn’t notice all the other sheep, and the Shepherd, going in a different direction until it’s too late, and then he’s lost.

We sometimes find ourselves discouraged or distracted, and slowly we start slipping away. We miss a few weeks of church, we don’t sign up for the upcoming Bible study, etc. We make excuses why we can’t attend, or help with the latest project. We take a symbolic step, then another step, and before long we look up, and wonder, “how did I get here?”

The migration of the Hummingbirds is just another reminder from God that I have stepped away, or stayed in one place too long, and now I no longer have those who support me – around me. They have all joined the volunteer project, and are praying for those crying out to God. They have all flown further South; the whole time I’m thinking “I am in the South?” Why should I leave? Comfortableness can be a very bad thing.

I look around, and all my surroundings are familiar, but not joyous. My neighbor Lisa, next door, is writing a book on a theory she has come up with. It’s called the 90/30 rule. Her theory is no one can be perfect so you can’t get above an average of 90 percent, but no one’s happiness should drop below 30 percent.

We should not allow other people, and their distractions, to pull us down. We need to force ourselves to stay above the 30.

This is such a great reminder not to allow the cares of this world to get a hold of us.

In Mark 4:19 it says, “And the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful.” (Note: this says the “word” becomes unfruitful. God cannot fulfill what His word says, if we are not doing what we should).

This world chokes on us each day, so if we are not feeding our spiritual man every day, then we will lose the battle, and eventually the war.

Most hummingbirds must eat every 30 to 45 minutes to sustain the energy level that is needed for their everyday life. We would be wise to follow the hummingbirds eating habits for our intake of spiritual food.

 

Karen Y. Stevens is founder of the Orange County Christian Writers Guild