Genesis 28:16 "And Jacob awaked out of his sleep, and he said, Surely the LORD is in this place; and I knew it not."

I sat in a wheelchair in my room in the care center, my thoughts only interrupted by the quiet whoosh of the ventilator giving me another breath.

I thought of how much my life had changed in the last several months. Just six months before, I had been an active college student. I was chaplain of a Christian fraternity and involved in a new drama ministry at church. I attended weekly meetings of a Christian club on campus and took part in one of their discipleship groups.

Now I was a resident in a care center hooked up to a ventilator. My life as I knew it had forever changed.

As the sun began to drift below the horizon, I looked out my window and saw a hummingbird hovering outside. I watched intently as it buzzed around the tree outside.

The last time I'd seen a hummingbird was at my step-grandparents' cabin in Prescott. Those were the good days. I loved to head up north with my family and spend a few days at that cabin in the woods, enjoying the cool air and relaxing amidst the tall pines.

Now those pine trees seemed so far away. But God seemed even further away. I felt as if God had departed from me, leaving me without an anchor in a sea of suffering.

That tiny hummingbird brought me a few moments' peace in my suffering. Too soon it flew off in the distance.

At about the same time the next day, the hummingbird appeared again. Peace returned as I watched the beautiful bird hovering just two feet outside my window, its rapidly flapping wings a mere blur. On a whim, I named the hummingbird Hubert.

Over the next several days Hubert the hummingbird faithfully appeared each day at twilight to bring me a few moments of peace. I truly believe Hubert arrived to remind me that God still cared. God knew that I needed a gentle reminder of His love and He sent a hummingbird as His messenger. God had never left me. He was "in this place, and I knew it not."

When God seems far away, the candle of our hope often gets snuffed out. We feel so alone in the darkness. We need a reminder of God's love to rekindle the flame, to rekindle our hope. God's messenger may not always be a hummingbird named Hubert. He may send a loving friend or a relative. He may send a stranger with a gift of compassion. I have a friend who even received a rainbow as a reminder of God's love.

God is with you. And He loves you. Don't forget it. A little bird told me so.