Heaven Bound

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I’m a worrier. Not habitually so but lately I’ve found myself waking up in the middle of the night to worry. Maybe you can relate to that. Worry over this and worry over that – most of which we have no control over anyway but that doesn’t seem to stop us – or at least me.

I was having coffee with my husband this morning when I said to him “I had a very odd dream last night and what is really funny is that my hearing impairment was part of it”. “Really,” he said. Probably not all that interested but knowing I was going to tell him anyway he took another sip of his coffee and waited for me to launch in to my story.

So, this was it – the dream

My husband and I were caring for a very young baby – a new born. It was not ours and how I knew that I don’t know. I just did. We weren’t its parents we were just caring for it. Wrapped in baby blankets it was quietly and contentedly sleeping. I asked my husband “what’s its name?” He answered and I thought he said “Oreo” “Oreo” I replied. “What kind of name is Oreo?” “Not Oreo” he said shaking his head knowing I come up with the craziest things when I don’t hear him correctly – “not Oreo; Claudio”.

End of dream

CLAUDIO

So, when I got up this morning I looked up the name Claudio and found out that it means lame. Interesting, but why would the baby in the dream have a name which meant lame? I was about to find out.

So, my husband finished his coffee and went out to set the water on our lawn. A few minutes later he called me to come to look at something. Walking outside, he pointed at a green plastic lawn chair. At first, I couldn’t see what he was pointing at but as I drew closer I could see a fluff ball of feathers sitting on the corner of the chair. It was a baby hummingbird. He was drawn into a ball but his eyes were bright and he was very much alive. We thought for sure as we got close that he would fly away but it soon became evident that he didn’t because he was not able to. Did he have a broken wing or was he simply too weak to fly? We didn’t know.

My husband suggested trying to give him some sugar water so I got a small syringe and tried dropping some on his beak. I mostly succeeded in creating a puddle of sugar water around him but he did open his beak a few times to try to get a few drops. I walked away and a few minutes later I looked and he was gone. I called to my husband to tell him that Claudio was gone – thinking the few drops of sugar water I gave him had rejuvenated him enough to fly but when my husband walked over he pointed to the grass and there he was – right next to the chair on the ground. Obviously, he had attempted to fly but didn’t make it far.

I was getting ready to go into town so I left my husband home to tend to the bird. I was just hoping our neighborhood cat known as “Mr. Dibbles” didn’t come calling. He’s a very loveable cat but a real killer when it comes to rodents, snakes and things- including baby birds if given the chance.

A couple of hours later I messaged my husband to see how things were going with the bird. He told me that he had moved him out of the sun using a fly swatter to lift him up. Once he had him in the shade he began to give him sugar water from the petals of a red flower but that hadn’t worked so well. So, instead he began to put the water on the tip of his finger and to his surprise little Claudio licked it all up. Every now and then he would make a high pitched squeak which brought another hummingbird (most likely the mama) swooping in at the speed of lightning making it obvious that she was not far off watching over her baby.

A few minutes later, my husband went inside to get a drink. When he came back out the bird was gone. He searched the lawn carefully but did not find the bird any where. Maybe it really had flown away. Was it injured? Or perhaps just weak and dehydrated. We’ll never know for sure. But, we like to think he made it.

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I mentioned the dream to my daughter followed by the bird story. I had not made any connection between the two – but she sure did!

She felt like the dream and the bird incident were an object lessen about worry.

“The baby bird” she said, “is Claudio from your dream.” God knows you have been worrying about your children and grandchildren and he intends to show you how very much aware he is of every little bird that falls. And more than that he is proving how he can and will use even the most unlikely source – in this case two humans to feed a helpless hummingbird from the tips of their fingers.

My husband had this to say –

“It would be impossible to measure the tiny amount of nectar little Claudio received from our feeding – but it was enough – enough to get him back in the air. God’s word does the same for us – sometimes even just a word is enough to pick us up and get us going again”.

Thanking God for little Claudio and the very important lesson the Lord brought to us through him.

“Pray for the peace of Jerusalem they shall prosper who love thee” Psalm 122:6

Watching and waiting with YOU for the soon return of Jesus! Cindy