Persistence

I was watching our hummingbird feeder this morning, and I learned a few lessons in persistence.

1. One of our first hummingbird visitors this morning understood persistence. She stayed on the feeder for a very long time -- longer than I've ever seen a hummingbird remain at the feeder before flying away. She devoted time to the effort. She would perch, she would hover. A couple of times while she was perching, she would open her wings, and I could see the bumblebee nature of them -- veined and translucent. Light as a -- if you'll pardon the expression -- feather.
2. This same hummingbird also demonstrated creativity. Creativity is a wonderful tool to have to enhance your persistence. She tried every place on that feeder to find nectar -- underneath, the middle, the finial on the bottom. She was not going to let any opportunities go by because of a lack of imagination. A little bit later in the morning, either the same bird or another one try to find nectar in the red cardinal finial on our seed feeder set up. No "in the box" thinking here.
3. Even while she was persistent, she was aware of the pitfalls and dangers. She was always on the lookout -- even for other hummingbirds. They are aggressive!
4. As I tried to get pictures, I learned other lessons about persistence. Be prepared. I completely missed taking pictures of our very persistent female visitor because the camera was downstairs. The ones in the post today are of other birds that visited this morning.
5. Be expectant. I would be watching, supposedly waiting for a hummingbird to come along, but I would not be holding the camera at the ready. When one arrived, I would have to raise the camera, re-focus it and then snap. If I had been always expectant, then my persistence would have paid off more often.

The author of Hebrews tells us about running the race. This passage is Hebrews 12:1-3:

Do you see what this means—all these pioneers who blazed the way, all these veterans cheering us on? It means we'd better get on with it. Strip down, start running—and never quit! No extra spiritual fat, no parasitic sins. Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we're in. Study how he did it. Because he never lost sight of where he was headed—that exhilarating finish in and with God—he could put up with anything along the way: Cross, shame, whatever. And now he's there, in the place of honor, right alongside God. When you find yourselves flagging in your faith, go over that story again, item by item, that long litany of hostility he plowed through. That will shoot adrenaline into your souls!