The hummingbird buzzed my head this morning as I was watching the sun rise. I didn’t see it, I heard it. The distinct whir of it’s wings and my thought was “a hummingbird!” - I love hummingbirds! I turned to look in the direction of the sound, and sure enough it was a hummingbird. Just as soon as it realized I was moving, it flew off. There and gone, but unmistakable the sound of it’s wings. My mind started wandering, do I know other birds simply by the noise they make? And I for sure can tell you the pair of woodpeckers that are in the tree to the right of the deck where I like to sit and write have their own unmistakable chirp. It’s fascinating. I know when I hear it, that they are close by and I start to look for them. Usually very quickly I can find the redheaded bird in the tree from there. They are also immediately recognizable when they are pecking the tree! I recognize the call from the hawk. I’m convinced she has a nest high up at the top of one our trees. Her sound is unmistakable as well. I could go on, the pair of cardinals, have taught me their chirp and the Canadian geese on the lake - well everyone would know that one.

As my mind continued down this path, the sun shone brighter and brighter. It’s a clear morning not a cloud in the sky but distinctly cooler than it has been all week. I started thinking of our dog Daisy’s bark. We know when it’s her bark at night keeping us up. My mind travelled to my children. Like when they were younger and I heard "Mom", I knew it was my child. That alert panic that enters your soul when you hear the cry of “Mom” with a note of something desperately wrong in it, or the sweet sound of something fun and exciting - you still know when it’s your child. Today I still recognize their voice in a crowd and sometimes still sense that panic of the cry of “Mom” if something is wrong.

Just as swiftly as I thought about my children, and the fact that I can pick their voice out of a crowd, I thought of my Heavenly Father. Just as I have learned as an ordinary person to listen and hear the sounds around me and connect them with what I have seen, how much more extraordinary is it that we can “hear” what our Heavenly Father says to us. He has already told us that He knows who we are - that we were planned from the beginning of time, that he formed us in the womb. He knows the number of hairs on our heads, and the tears that we cry. He is intimately involved in every aspect of our lives. Our Creator God is astounding and awesome. My mind fails to understand how he can keep up with all of us, it seems so unlikely and impossible. What’s even more amazing to me is the way that if we spend time reading His words, meditating on His Scriptures, and talking with him in prayer, we can learn to hear the sound of his voice. The unmistakable leading of His hand just as clearly as the sound the wind makes when it moves the trees to bend and sway.

Unfortunately this is where I have a breakdown personally. I sense His leading, I hear his calling, and I start to walk the directions I know He’s told me to go. But I am full of doubt, and insecurity and start to wonder “did I really hear what God was telling me?”. This morning, I sensed that God just wanted me to remember that as I am faithful to walk daily with him, and hear from him, I can walk ahead confidently knowing that what He has told me and placed within my heart is His specific leading.

What a great way to start the day! It’s been a lovely morning so far, I can’t wait to see what lies ahead.