hummingbird

The clock whirred. Patients came and went. For over an hour, I waited for the ultrasound technician to call my name. My injured leg was swollen again, from right below the knee to the very tips of my toes. (This dates back to my face-plant in the church parking lot on Palm Sunday.) How to treat the injury, once and for all? My doctor and I hoped the new ultrasound would give us some clues.

I glanced down at my bloated foot, and my mind spun out to all sorts of horrible things, not the least of which was being forced into Ted hose and Velcro-strapped tennies…maybe for the rest of my life! (Not to offend anyone who wears support hose and sensible shoes for any reason. It’s just that, well, you know how much I love wearing flip-flops! (Footwear selection = lifestyle choice, right?)

The woman sitting next to me interrupted my angst attack train of thought. "Is that a good book?"

"Oh, yes!" I said, and we talked for a few minutes about AMONG PIGEONS, the  charming book that cinda_cite mailed to me awhile back. We also discussed an amazing photographer who’d been profiled in the Smithsonian magazine she was reading. From there, we drifted to our mutual love of photography. I confessed to being a novice, at best. "I like to take pictures of birds…and flowers in my garden, mostly," I said. 

With shining eyes, she told me about the tropical oasis she’d created in her own backyard–a sanctuary for her, and a playground for butterflies and hummingbirds. "I call it God’s Glory Garden," she said, and when she described it, I’m fairly certain my eyes lit up, too, because she offered to send me a copy of a photograph she’d taken just recently–a close-up of a hummingbird perched on the beak of a Bird of Paradise. She had to be motionless for several long minutes, she told me, but her patience was rewarded with a shot she dearly loved. "That whole experience reminded me of Psalms 46:10," she said. "Be still, and know that I am God." And as she recited the verse aloud, I felt its peaceful reassurance wash over me.

Yesterday afternoon, I got a phone call from the doctor. She said the swelling may take time to resolve itself, but I’ve got nothing to worry about long-term. And coincidentally (?) Pamela Sorenson’s photograph arrived in yesterday’s mail, along with a lovely note on butterfly stationery. I’m grateful to her for reaching out to me a week ago, and for granting me permission to share the picture she describes as "a sweet little hummingbird taking a breather."