Humminbirds & Weary Woodpeckers

9/24/2021

The other day I had a sweet reminder of how good it is to have a friend like Jesus. The reminder came from three humming birds and a woodpecker.

I was sipping on my morning coffee, watching humming birds buzz around the backyard. They would dart in close for a sip of juice from the jar hanging upside down by the fence and then zip over—faster than my eye could follow—to the flowerbed, bouncing back and forth between the red, yellow and purple zinnias. The drone-sounding hum of their wings was interrupted by a metrical tapping sound from overhead.

Tap, Tap, Tap, pause . . .

Tap, Tap, pause . . .

Tap, Tap, Tap, pause . . .

Tap, Tap . . .

I looked up and discovered a
lonely woodpecker,
scavenging for bugs
in the rotten branch of
my neighbor’s maple tree.

I began to reflect on the disparity between the privilege of the hummingbird and the fate of the woodpecker. If I had to live as one or the other I would definitely choose the life of the humming bird—floating through life, sucking sugar out of flowers is far better than banging your face against a tree and eating bugs. Who wouldn’t choose the life of a hummingbird over the life of a woodpecker?

The truth is, my life has been a mixture of the two. On some days everything goes right; with little effort I find myself flourishing in friendships, working side-by-side with my family and friends, using our gifts and talents to accomplish goals and add flavor to life. But on other days, nothing seems to go right. The harder I work, the further I get behind. On days like that bitterness can work its way into my imagination, robbing me of the joy I had when I set out to meet the day.

Stringing one “woodpecker day” after another—banging your face against the wall and getting nothing but bugs for your effort—will eventually lead to fatigue and possibly burnout. If life has been an uphill battle for a while and you find yourself tired and weary this might be a good day to stop and hear the invitation your friend Jesus is speaking over you:

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.

Jesus knows life can be tough. He knows what you are going through today. Here are four things you can do to respond to his invitation.

First: Take a moment and name the fatigue. What is it that is wearing you out?

Second: Take the burden to Jesus in prayer. Remember, Jesus promised to be with you always, to never leave you or forsake you. Jesus is present with you in the chaos of life.

Third: Make an exchange. Jesus is inviting you to give him your burden and to receive his yoke in its place. When you are yoked with Jesus he will help you carry the load. It will be a great exchange because, his yoke is easy and his burden is light.

Fourth: Ask Jesus to help you hum a little today. Humming your way through the madness will help you taste and see the sweet parts of life in spite of the bug filled, rotten tree standing in front of you.

9 Comments

Author

Larry Stoess is an author, public speaker, and urban church planter. He loves telling stories about how dreaming with God will empower people to make old and broken things new again. Larry and a band of friends founded the Church of the Promise in Louisville's Portland neighborhood; The Table, a pay-what-you-can community café; and Promise Housing Plus, a non-profit construction company. He has written about their experience of dreaming with God in his new book: Think Red.

Committed to Think Red

THINK RED TOGETHER PROMOTEs CONVERSATION AND shares INNOVATIVE IDEAS THAT will INSPIRE OTHERS TO IMAGINE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT BASED ON THE VALUES, VISION, AND MISSION OF JESUS. WE ENCOURAGE OPEN AND HONEST COMMENTS. WE WELCOME YOUR STORIES, EXPRESSIONS OF ART, POETRY, AND THEOLOGICAL REFLECTION. however, ALL POST MUST ALIGN WITH OUR CONDUCT AGREEMENT.

Maria McIntosh

9/24/2021 01:50:35 pm

Great read Larry. Number 2 is one I must remember
Cause I need him. Thank you. Maria

Angie Edwards

9/25/2021 06:53:23 am

I shared this with an exhausted friend. Her take is that God's model is to work 6 days and rest on the 7th. I don't think God meant us to use up every drop of our energy for 6 days and some how we would miraculously be renewed in one day.

To use a country expression, that doesn't seem to,gee-haw with Jesus's promise to give us rest and that his yoke will be light ,

(For the not so country, gee and haw are commands for a team of draft animals. To work together the animals must respond correctly.)

(My grandfather was a teamster when they still drove teams of horses. )

Donald L Craig

9/25/2021 07:39:03 am

Larry,
I have really enjoyed reading your weekly devotionals and I have often wanted to tell you so but I never seemed to find the time. Today’s installment, however, really caught my attention for several reasons. Your mention of humming birds called to mind of years as missionaries in Costa Rica. It is incredible that little Costa Rica is home to such a variety of ecosystems one of which was at Monte Verde (Green Mountain) known for being a “cloud forest” area. The national park there was overflowing with all kinds of birds to include several varieties of humming birds. The area was famous for another species of bird known as the Resplendent Quetzal, a very rare and reclusive bird which attracted bird watchers from all over the world. It was the humming birds though that intrigued me the most and I marveled at the awesome creativity of our God. To my knowledge, wood peckers are not indigenous to Costa Rica but there are other animals there that one could use as you did in this devotional. There was even a poisonous frog; can you believe that? By the way Monte Verde was also home to a settlement of Amish folks who migrated there several years ago and set up a dairy business, producing among other things “Monte Verde Cheese.” Man o man was it ever delicious. It’s one of the many things we miss about our adopted country. Well, I did not intend for this to be an epistle so I ‘ll close for now, wishing you the LORD’S blessing on your ministry!

Don Craig

larry W stoess

9/28/2021 01:15:37 pm

Hey Don thanks for your insights and associations with your time in Costa Rica. That seems like a life time ago to me. You guys have done so much in the life of the Church, before your missionary journey, during your time in Costa Rica and since you've returned.

Tell me again, How many times have you retired?

9/28/2021 01:10:18 pm

Hey Angie, thanks for your comment. You remind me of difference of working from rest (the first day after Adam and Eve were created was a day of rest and then they started working) and the way of your friend and many others - work until we collapse.

rest - work / rest - work / rest - work ... makes a better rhythm and we're more productive than when we

work - collapse / work - collapse / work - collapse...

Jane Knapp

9/27/2021 11:19:29 am

I love reading your posts! Keep up the good work of encouraging and shepherding 💞

9/28/2021 01:11:22 pm

Jane, thank you so much for the kind words of encouragement. The book will be released real soon. I'll keep you posted.

Ivan Garth Corbin

9/28/2021 09:59:31 am

Larry, thanks again for your thoughtful writings - really needed this one today - actually, could have used it yesterday morning after receiving an e-mail that caused me to have one of those "head banging" moments. The good news is that it didn't take long to hear the hum of the humming bird - and to be honest, we need both, but just not so much of the head banging at one time. Blessings friend.

10/1/2021 05:17:49 am

Thank Ivan . . . no doubt woodpecker days make the hummingbird days a little sweeter.