Susan's Hummingbird Gardens

Black-chinned hummingbird

Auntie and I were gossiping and sipping tea in her hummingbird garden. How I loved her English style garden… almost as much as I loved my Auntie Elizabeth!

I don’t know exactly how it started – our companioning. More than likely it was during my visits while a toddler. Among my first memories are of sitting on her lap, blowing dandelion tufts into the breeze.

As I smiled with the memory, she whispered, “Do you hear him? He’s behind me somewhere.”

Looking past her, maybe two feet, was her friend, The Deacon. “Yes, Auntie. He’s just behind you, working his way along the honeysuckle trellis. In just a second, he’ll be along side you. Ok, you should be able to see him now. Why do you call him The Deacon?”

How The Deacon, a Black-Chinned Hummingbird, Got His Name…

Slowly, Auntie Elizabeth turned toward the soft rushing sound… and smiled her magic. When she had that look, a memory always followed… and she always shared the moment.

She began, “I know this isn’t my original Deacon, but these precious creatures never fail to revive that moment of grief overcome.”

“When your Uncle passed away, I felt so alone and afraid and lost… grief just took over my life. Nothing would lift me out of it.”

“Until… one morning, I was awakened by a tapping sound at my window. Something made me put on my robe, go outside, and sit on your Uncle’s morning bench.”

“Then, the most remarkable thing happened. A tiny hummingbird came within two feet of my face, looked me straight in the eye, and hovered there. I slowly raised my hand and held it out toward the little fellow. Without hesitation, he flew to my hand and rested there! He watched me quietly as tears flowed down my cheeks.”

“Soon, he lifted softly into the air a bit and backed away about ten feet, hesitated, came back to me, and then retreated again. It just felt as if he wanted me to follow him… so I did. He took me all through the garden, “showing” me how beautiful and peaceful and alive life was that morning.”

“When he was finished, he flew off. And my grief was gone, replaced by life seen through the eyes of this little fluff of love.”

Tears welled up in my eyes, and all I could manage was, “Oh, Auntie…”

She patted my hand and continued. “The next morning my new friend greeted me with a cheery trill and several swoops through the air in front of me… and he was off about his business.”

“It was then I noticed his coloring… just like this little fellow over by you. What really stood out was the white ring around his neck… like a deacon’s collar.”

“So you see, sweetheart, whenever I see one of my Deacon’s relatives, his blessing still touches me. His sermon that morning was of life… of joy, goodness, hope.”

She turned to me and grinned. “My life was renewed by a tiny, deacon-collared little hummingbird.” She paused and whispered, “Just like this little one.”

As she held up her hand, he rested there a moment, looking at her… and then was off. She turned that magic smile toward me, and I understood.

As a child, everything always seemed better when Auntie smiled. It still does… for her tiny hummingbird and me!

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