Sweet Mixture Poem by Curtis Johnson

SWEET MIXTURE
By Curtis Johnson

The formula was so simple that even I could follow it and make some
little creatures very happy. I read the pamphlet that came in the box with the feeder, and followed directions so as to create the taste that all hummingbirds would love.

My wife and I had been gifted with a Humming bird feeder. It sat for several weeks before I decided to give it a shot, and grace my home with the tranquil presence of the red oval feeder. I knew that this back yard addition would be a new source of joy as we relaxed on the enclosed patio.

After adding one cup of sugar to four cups of water in a small pot, I sat it on the stove and allowed it to boil. After boiling, I let it cool and put the sugar water in the feeder. I tell you, this senior citizen was filled with excitement, knowing that before long, like the squirrels, birds too would feast in my little back yard.After putting it all together and hanging the feeder just outside of our
bedroom window, I waited with anticipation for the day that I would
personally witness a bird feeding outside our window.

I did not count, but it seemed there were many days before I saw my first little hummingbird drinking the sugar water mixture from the feeder. And when I saw my little bird friend drinking, it was absolutely exhilarating and exciting! Who knew that such a small effort could produce such happiness inside of me? Who knew that feeding a bird would open such flood gates of pride within me? Sometimes it's the small things in life that make a man feel like a giant inside. I never knew that such beauty and joy would rain down on a stoic like me, simply from watching a hummingbird drink sweet water. It was pure delight. The pamphlet indicated that each day the hummingbird consumes half its weight in food. What are they doing? Where are they going? One has to assume that they are consuming so much food and expending vast amounts of energy, because they are working so hard at producing things most useful for mankind. Basically that food consists of a diet of nectar from flowers and insects. Oh, and also my sweet mixture.

So much of life is a 'mixture'. There is often a measure of sweet mixtures, but more often than we like, there are sour, bitter, sad, depressing, and so many other types of mixtures that make up the sum of our lives. These mixtures not only sum up our lives, but they also create a sense of balance. This sense of balance coupled with God's grace enables us to grow and blossom into the best little humming birds that we can be. cj07082013