Birdwatching...

There is no shortage of activity. Birds are everywhere. Squirrels race through the trees. Rabbits wander across the yard. People walk their dogs. Insects are hiking across the porch. And there always seems to be one fly assigned to test my patience.

But lately, the hummingbird has really caught my attention.

Leigh-Ann and I are now old enough to have a married daughter, and evidently our next logical activity is birdwatching. I’m not sure when this happened, but here we are.

I have to admit, though, hummingbirds are fascinating.

According to my extensive ornithological research, which consisted mostly of Googling “hummingbird facts,” a hummingbird can remember every flower and feeder they’ve visited and how long it takes for a certain flower to refill…like our boys, they are eating us out of house and home. They can fly thousands of miles a year. They love sugar and eat insects… except the ones biting me. A hummingbird can beat its wings around 50 times per second while hovering. Its heart can race at more than 1,200 beats per minute in flight. It can fly forward, backward, up, down, and then suddenly zoom away so fast that I lose track of it.

What fascinates me most is watching one land in the tree right in front of me. I know where it went. I watched it land. But its green coloring blends into the leaves so well that I often cannot find it.

I know it’s there. I just can’t see it.

And this brings us to the final week of our sermon series in Ruth, where God remains surprisingly quiet throughout much of the book. He does not part a sea, send fire from heaven, or speak from a burning bush. Instead, we read about a famine, a move to Moab, heartbreaking loss, a return home, a field, a generous landowner, a marriage, and eventually a baby.

At times, God seems almost hidden in the leaves. But He never stops working.

This Sunday we will study from Ruth 4:13–22. These final verses are like zooming a camera back, and they show us that this little family story fits inside a much greater story of redemption. Ruth’s story eventually leads to David, and ultimately, to Jesus.

Like Ruth and Naomi, we can’t always see what God is doing with the ordinary conversations, disappointments, opportunities, relationships, and decisions that fill our days. But unseen does not mean absent. Our day-to-day stories find their meaning within God’s greater story of redemption.

I can’t wait to share more on Sunday at 8:00, 9:15 (Full KidCity available), or 10:45 am (Full KidCity available)…OR a service in Spanish at 1:00 pm.  Otherwise, you can watch the Livestream on YouTube (Like and subscribe) or on our New Life website at 9:15 am. Also, we would LOVE for you to follow us on Facebook, YouTube, and  Instagram. 

I’m headed off to check on the birds while trying to stay cool,

Troy