Zooming in

We moved into a new home in the beginning of fall last year – so we’ve been pleasantly surprised with the colorful blooming this spring and summer. One such is a perennial called Lucifer Crocosmia – it attracts hummingbirds!

As the sun goes down, and the itty bitty birds visit for their last sugary sips before nightfall, I stake out with my camera. Sometimes I sit quite a while … sprawled out in the peace of a quieting day, the sun sinking, the sky slipping into a new colored nightgowns … And then it comes … the one bird call my ears hear clear: the squeak of a hummingbird. It says hello and then darts down, dancing and drinking in the blooms. It hovers midair and then looks me in the eye … at this point, sometimes it’s gone in flash, and sometimes it flashes a smile.

After a few days of this, the bird recognizes that the black devise pointed its way is not a gun, and she becomes a bit more accustomed to the click, click, clicking camera. One particular night, that little feathered flirt posed for me. Delicately resting on a bowed branch, she sat and stared confidently through the lens.

It wasn’t until later that night, when I zoomed in, that I noticed the design detailed on her breast:
a perfect flower, with neon petals.
Take a good look:

It’s so perfect. It’s so colorful. It’s an emblem of His wonderful works.

To fully appreciate the detail of the moment … to audibly gasp over its beauty and be taken back by the blessing of it … I had to snap the picture and then go back and zoom in. I couldn’t have seen that technicolor design with my naked eye. The moment went too fast, and my mortal eyes are too limited … I had to return and zoom in.  Ever feel like that? I do – a lot.

I often feel that a moment holds importance or an important message, but it isn’t until later – when I can go back and zoom in mentally and spiritually – that I recognize the beauty or the beautiful lesson within. That’s why I’m jotting notes in the middle of a moment … reminding myself to return and look deeper. It’s why, before bed, I’m reviewing my day through prayer with Heavenly Father. It’s why I’m trying to rely on the long lens of an eternal perspective.

I’ve asked myself, “What’s the point in looking back again? I can’t do anything to improve the situation now – the time has passed.” And though it’s true that I can’t modify the moment, I can learn and apply the lessons from that moment. Those tiny passings can influence a much bigger future. Those divine details can alter my destiny.

So, here’s to taking time to return and review, to sink deeper and still time … to zoom in.

Have you had memories or moments where zooming in granted sight of His divine designs?
I’d love to hear – please share in the comments section.