In my last post, I wrote about how my Rose of Sharon bush and the hummingbirds that hover in it gave me comfort during the Covid summer of 2020.

I was anticipating their arrival this summer as well and very disappointed that I wasn’t seeing any. One day last week I caught a flutter out of the corner of my eye, and said to myself, This must be the hummingbird. As I went closer to the window, it became evident that it was not the hummingbird, but a bright red male cardinal. My first thought was disappointment, but then I chastised myself . How could I be disappointed in seeing such a beautiful, colorful bird?

Isn’t this so true in other parts of life? We are so often fixated on something we are expecting that we almost reject something possibly even better that comes along.  Life doesn’t always turn out the way we expect it to be. Sometimes it’s full of disappointment, but at other times it exceeds our expectations. When I pray for something, I try not to be too specific. I know I should let God fill in the details. He’s good at that. So I took pleasure in the cardinal, and just this week the hummingbirds have returned.