Candace Calvert: Life Lessons From Hummmberto

Everyone's Story welcomes back the lovely and phenomenal Candace Calvert. I've had the pleasure of meeting Candace in the very beginning of my journey of writing Christian fiction and I will never forget her warm smile, reflective of her warm heart. This week Candace shares with us what an amazing, tiny bird had taught her this past winter. Can you relate? Check out her wonderful Book Giveaway offer, a bonus to please any book lover! Both Candace and I are looking forward to hearing from you!

Book Giveaway:
Candace wants to make 5 readers very happy! She is generously offering one autographed copy of her newest release, LIFE SUPPORT, to 5 randomly chosen commenters. The winners will be announced here on Friday, May 23, between 5-6 PM EST. To be eligible, please leave your contact information within your comment. Thanks!


                                 For a little extra delight:

 

My Friend, Hummmberto by Candace Calvert

But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.

Romans 8:25 (NIV)

I’ve always had an issue with patience. Not in a way that makes me a grumpy curmudgeon in a DMV line, or road-rage scary on the freeway; no worries there, friends. My impatience is more like an over-eager, can’t wait to get started, little kid thing. You know, that whole backseat, road-trip, “Are we there yet?” syndrome. On steroids.

I will admit, right here and now, that I have dug up garden seeds just to see if they were beginning to sprout. Yes. Planted them, dug them back up.  Because waiting patiently for the first green leaf to emerge was way too hard. I needed to be assured it would happen. Can anyone relate? Am I alone here?

Unfortunately, a huge part of our lives is spent waiting—two to three YEARS in total, according to some sources. Writers know that frustration first hand:

·      Waiting for the “day job” to end (our baby to nap!) to grab some precious writing time

·      Waiting to hear back from a critique partner on our latest chapter

·      Waiting to hear if we are a finalist in a writing contest

·      Waiting (endlessly) for responses to agent queries

·      Waiting to hear from our new agent about a manuscript submitted to an editor

·      Waiting for news after the editor takes it to her publishing board

·      Waiting for that dreamed-for contract to arrive

·      Waiting (pacing, nearly popping) to announce a book sale on Facebook!

·      Waiting . . . months and months for that book’s release (while checking on Amazon several times a day, like we’re digging for sprouted seeds).

Waiting for Hummmberto

Patience. That thorn in my side. And exactly the lesson God has been trying to teach me. I’ve suspected it for a long time. And this past winter, He chose a very unique way of working on it. A way that wrapped me in a daily ritual—and strange attire: scarlet ski jacket over my PJ’s, red boa scarf around my neck—even a flashy crimson manicure. My “Hummingbird Outfit.”  I pulled it on just before dawn, leaving my cozy, warm bed (and incredulous husband), to stumble out into the backyard, yawning, in temperatures as low as 29 degrees (that is c-c-old for Californians). All because . . .

An Anna's Hummingbird

I’m a bird lover, an admitted bird nerd. And a single male hummingbird—a beautiful Anna’s—decided not to migrate this year, and stayed at my feeder. Hungry. Amazingly, he wasn’t shy when I first filled the feeder. It surprised and intrigued me. So I Googled a plan to encourage him to come close enough to feed from my hands. Slowly . . . slowly we worked at it.

 Hummingbird Boa
 (gift from a reader)

Some mornings—many mornings—I had to wait a long time for Hummmberto (his name, emphasis on the Hummm) to come from wherever it was that he slept. My hands would shake with cold, cramp, as I held the feeder. Sometimes he would perch on a branch and watch, talking and singing in hummer language. Other times he’d skim the top of my hair, stare into my face . . . before finally lighting on the feeder. Eventually hovered near enough to my fingers that I felt the breeze from his tiny wings. He perched, glanced up at me, and sipped. His beauty, his trust—our bond—  brought tears to my eyes. And a strong realization:

Waiting there each morning—shivering, and so tempted to give up—was God’s plan to teach me patience. His reward: a tiny and amazing miracle only He could create. 

Such a blessing!

Hummingbird nail polish

Hummmberto is still out there, though with the multitude of spring blossoms (and his adoring girlfriends) he finds the feeder—and the lady in the boa—far less attractive. But each time I see him, I think of those lessons. And I find more peace in waiting now; I’m no longer tempted to dig up the garden and check for sprouts. I look for more opportunities to hope for what I don’t yet have . . . and wait for it with patience.

How about you? Is patience hard? Are you ever tempted to “dig up the seeds?”


Check out Candace's previous visit on Everyone's Story


Candace's Ah-hahs To Tweet:

Combine amazing author @CandaceCalvert & a hummingbird for fun & insight. (Tweet This)

Like #MedicalFiction? Visit with author Candace Calvert on Everyone’s Story. #BookGiveaway (Tweet This)

How did author Candace Calvert learn patience? (Tweet This)

Candace Calvert offers dynamic #BookGiveaway to 5 lucky winners. Will you be one? (Tweet This)

Author's Bio:
Candace Calvert is a former ER nurse who believes love, laughter and faith are the best medicines. Her Mercy Hospital and Grace Medical series offer readers a chance to “scrub in” on the exciting world of emergency medicine—along with a soul-soothing prescription for hope. Wife, mother, and very proud grandmother, she makes her home in northern California.

Places to connect with Candace:

Website

Blog

Twitter

Facebook

Amazon