by Beverly Hutchinson McNeff

I watched as the hummingbird, with decisive precision, grace, and speed, retrieved the nectar from one flower and then the next. He was an amazing example of accuracy. Not one movement was extraneous; each had a purpose, and that purpose was clear to see. My attention was then turned to a big, black, bumbling bug that appeared to be a bee of some sort. It looked as if his radar was a little off-kilter as he approached flower after flower in off-angled attempts to withdraw his morning breakfast. Bumping into a fence here and a leaf there, not quite landing on the flower in the perfect position and having to try it again, it seemed like he was the exact opposite of the magnificent hummingbird. But was he?

There are times in our lives when we seem to strike life with the precision and confidence of that hummingbird. Knowing exactly what to say and do, we approach life at a running start. At other times, and perhaps most of the time, we feel like the big, black, bumbling bug. We are trying to reach our goal but are experiencing a lot of roadblocks along the way.

A Course in Miracles tells us that we are as God created us, not what we made of ourselves. It asks us “to lay all idols and self-images aside; go past the list of attributes, both good or bad, we [you] have ascribed to ourselves [yourself]; and wait in silent expectancy for the truth.”

“I am as God created me” is the statement of salvation. It is our restoration to sanity. It is the thought that unites us not only with God but with each other.

When we affirm that “I am as God created me,” we are withdrawing our temptation to judge ourselves and others as powerless and inept. Each attempt we make to achieve our goal of healing is important and purposeful. We may seem to be bumbling around when everyone else seems to be making precise decisions, but we all reach the same goal in the end. Just like the hummingbird and the bumbling bug who both retrieve the same nectar, we too retrieve the same support, help, and peace from God when we join our will with His and affirm, “I am as God created me.”

This powerful lesson from the Workbook of A Course in Miracles is so crucial that it is repeated thrice with the exact title. Of course, its intent is a constant message in the Course, but these exact words are important enough in the Course’s teaching to be repeated in Lesson 94, 110, and 162. Each time, we are reminded to take our attention off the appearances of the world, our lives, and the lives of others and concentrate on this truth “that comes to set us [you] free.” The truth of this statement, “I am as God created me,” “is the birthplace of all miracles, the great restorer of the truth to the awareness of the world.” It may seem beyond our comprehension that our simple willingness to repeat that “I am as God created me” could be the great restorer of truth to the world, yet this is precisely what God is telling us. But He is not telling us that we restore it alone; we do it with our brothers. That is why the lesson not only refers to ourselves but our brothers, as well. It tells us to frequently affirm God’s truth for ourselves by saying: “I am as God created me. I am His Son eternally.” And, then, it quickly adds that we are to affirm this truth for anyone who irritates us by saying silently to them: “You are as God created you. You are His Son eternally.” It tries to remind us that there is no difference between our salvation and our brothers. We cannot know the truth about our being if we exclude that truth for anyone else.

Hummingbird or bumbling bug, we are all the same. As we go past the forms of judgment that we so quickly want to attach to ourselves and others and allow God’s judgment to rest on our eyes, we will see that the darkness that made us feel so alone and separate will be no more. For “the light is come today to bless the world. For you have recognized the Son of God, and in that recognition is the world’s.”

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The above quotes are from Lessons 94, 110, and 162 in the Workbook for Students of A Course in Miracles.