Sweet Nectar

Sep 23, 2013 by Jim and Jerolyn Bogear

Today I was sitting on the back patio with my Bible and IPad enjoying some quiet time with the Lord. Suddenly, I heard a very familiar sound – wings moving very fast. I looked up at the hummingbird feeder above my head and there he was – a beautiful little hummingbird feeding away at the sugar water I had made for him and his closest friends and family.

As I watched him eat, I became overwhelmed with the thought that I was able to help this little bird find something to eat. It was a simple thing – just 4 parts water to 1 part sugar. But it made a difference in that little bird’s life.

And it made me wonder – how should we live our lives so that we are sweet nectar to the people we come in contact with?

We have the opportunity every single day to make a difference in someone’s life – for good or for bad. Starting with our family and moving on through our work day to the grocery stop on the way home or working out in the gym, we are surrounded by people who need to know there is love and hope and both are alive and well.

How do we do that?

1. Choose to give more grace.

How often do we jump to conclusions in every scenario. We can take one incidence and play through an entire conversation in our mind as to how we will confront the supposed offender. If we would simply take the time to learn the truth behind someone’s actions, we could save ourselves a lot of frustration and move forward in our relationships. Multiple times a day we each need to be shown grace. We should be quick to extend it.

2. Choose to be positive.

There is so much negativity in the world. We certainly don’t need to add to it. I can tend to be a glass-half-empty kind of person and often joke that I’m not a pessimist; I’m a realist. But that’s not a good excuse for spouting off negative thoughts – especially concerning people. We need to be uplifting and extend more grace. (See #1)

3. Choose to overwhelm others with kindness.

Remember how warm and loved you felt the last time someone did something nice for you? I just have to think back a couple of hours. My daughter-in-law stopped by my office with a spiced pumpkin latte. She didn’t have to do that. But she took the time to go out of her way to bring me a treat. Kindness doesn’t even have to cost anything. You can do something for free  – open a door for a stranger, wave at your neighbor, or smile at the sales clerk. It’s very difficult for people to remain sour or negative when you are shining your smile their way.

4. Choose to be vulnerable.

Opening yourself up to spread some joy can be a vulnerable position. Some people will try to take advantage of you. Others will think you are a weak person. Neither has to affect what you choose to do. As you live in the truth of who you really are, your sweet attitude will have a greater effect than their misconceptions of you.

As I continued sitting and listening on my patio, I heard the soft chirping of more hummingbirds, and soon I saw at least three of them chasing each other from limb to limb. More than one bird is feeding on the sweet nectar of my feeder. As we live our lives, we can be the sweet nectar to which others are drawn every day.

How many lives have you touched today? Did you spread negativity or love and hope?

~Jerolyn