Over the past years, the hummingbird has become special to me. It feels like this African fable as told by 2004 Noble Peace Prize Winner Wangari Muta Maaathai to children has a message for me, my team at Stroopies…and you too!
“We are constantly being bombarded by problems that we face and sometimes we can get completely overwhelmed.
The Story of the hummingbird is about this huge forest being consumed by fire. All the animals in the forest come out and they are transfixed as they watch the forest burning and they feel very overwhelmed, very powerless, except this little hummingbird. It says, “I’m going to do something about the fire.”
So it flies to the nearest stream and takes a drop of water. It puts it on the fire, and goes up and down, up and down, up and down, as fast as it can. In the meantime, all the other animals, much bigger animals like the elephant with a big trunk that could bring much more water, they are standing there helpless.
And they are saying to the hummingbird, “What do you think you can do? You are too little. This fire is too big. Your wings are too little and your beak is so small that you can only bring a small drop of water at a time.” But as they continue to discourage it, it turns to them without wasting any time and it tells them, “ I am doing the best I can.”
Inspired by this fable, two french pilots Jose Benavente and Benoit Micolon pulled their life savings to buy an aircraft. Their plan: to save lives by spotting rickety, overcrowded migrant vessels before it was too late by flying over the Mediterranean and rescuing those they could. They named their single-engined MCR 4 plane “Hummingbird.”
I heard this fable and read the story of these two pilots…and I was intrigued with the Hummingbird and the efforts of these two pilots. What if instead of being overwhelmed and discouraged we each do the best we can and be like the hummingbird. Even if it feels little or insignificant to us, to God and to those we help it is beautiful and significant.
At Stroopies, we are a small business that has at it’s core a desire to provide meaningful employment to resettled refugee women whose new home is Lancaster PA. We may be tempted to feel like we are too small to have major impact…but this, my friends, is not the truth. Every act of kindness, every step made to make the world a kinder place, no matter how small, is significant.
For months I kept this parable as an encouragement, and prayed that God would help me to not lose faith and be like the hummingbird. Perhaps even the big elephants that were watching our work at Stroopies could be persuaded to jump in and help fight the fire in ways that we couldn’t. At any rate, the hummingbird, doing what it did in the fable fascinated me and spurred me on to keep doing what I could.
And then…something amazing happened. A small package was given to me at Christmas by a friend. In the package was a beautiful hummingbird necklace. I was speechless, as tears of joy sprung to my eyes. I had never shared with my friend how inspired I had been by the hummingbird…God just used her as a vessel to bring me much needed encouragement. I will never forget it…and it has made a difference in my level of faith that I carry as I do the small things each and every day.
So, be encouraged, by the hummingbird, my friends! Let’s each do the parts that we have to do, no matter how small (or big for that matter), and the world will be a loving, more kind place…I am convinced!
Warmly,
Jennie
