My precious little hummingbirds are at my feeder furiously these days.  They know what is ahead, the long trip from CT. to wherever they go for the winter, Central America???  They need to get ready and plump up for the journey.  In just a few short weeks they will be gone, only to return next April.  Fascinating creatures, these little birds.  They instinctively know how to prepare themselves for the long trip to their ‘new land’.

Speaking of journeys to a ‘new land’ brings Abraham to mind.  He is such a perplexing character to me.  I can only imagine what was on his mind and heart as he traveled for three days with Isaac thinking that he would have to sacrifice his precious son.

We ask…how does God permit these things?  Whether we believe that God put Abraham to the test (have a bit of trouble with that one), or that Abraham was doing what he thought he must (it was common in those days to sacrifice your first-born) to be a good and faith-filled servant, there is no doubt that God allowed Abraham these three days of torment.

Perhaps Abraham has something in common with the little hummingbirds.  Perhaps Abraham needed those three days to ‘plump up’, to grow into the person he needed to become in order to take the next step.  Perhaps God watched with the most tender and compassionate eyes and felt every morsel of Abraham’s pain knowing that the end result would be well worth it.

We see events in our lives as bordered by time.  When we look at a piece of the puzzle, it is difficult to see the the entire picture.  God sees the picture.

The hummingbirds will be ready to fly….Abraham was…..so will we.