Allen Iverson, Hummingbirds, & Things Too Wonderful for Me

A Reflection on my time at the 2025-2026 PAX Fellowship Retreat

“Three things are too wondrous for me; four I can’t understand: the way of an eagle in the sky, the way of a snake on a rock, the way of a ship at sea, and the way of a man with a young woman.”

‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭30‬:‭18‬-‭19‬ ‭CSB‬‬

Have you ever taken time to slow down and look up? To find and admire the wonderful in nature? To ponder God’s creation and see the beauty?

Beauty!

Hm, now that’s an interesting word with a depth of meaning. It’s a word like love, often used with a variety of meanings. People can be beautiful, things can be beautiful, places can be beautiful, and experiences can be beautiful.

My Grandfather was a man who, no matter the season, could always find the beauty in life. He was a courageous, caring, and complex man. He poured concrete and planted gardens! He fought in World War II and owned a community grocery store. He took us to church, and he drank more than he should.

As I’ve grown older, I’ve come to understand the coping mechanisms that the Greatest Generation employed for their survival. My Grandfather was a veteran of a war he was man enough to fight in, but when he came home, he struggled to find his footing as a Black man in the American South. He was a man who knew his intrinsic dignity and always felt that his location was too small for him, yet he made the most out of the opportunities he had been afforded.

I mention my Grandfather here because he would often utter the word beautiful. He was a man who could be present with himself and with others. I never heard him utter the words “I love you,” but he showed it in the beauty he cultivated. Through hours spent taking us to swimming lessons, through the fruit and vegetables we picked in his garden, through allowing us to live with him for seven years, and through a shared whopper and fries with my cousins.

I thought about my Grandfather this past weekend while I was on a retreat as a PAX Fellow in Scottsdale, Arizona, at the Franciscan Renewal Center. The Pax Fellowship is the signature program of Made For Pax. It’s a nine-month fellowship for Christians of color ages 25-45, offering virtual sessions that include teaching, group mentorship, spiritual direction, contemplative practices, and community building for peace and justice. There was so much beauty to take in! In the people, the scenery, and the experience. I met this beautiful brother named Patrick from the Atlanta, GA area, who is also a fellow. On our last day there, I passed by him a couple of times as he was standing still and looking up. When I finally stopped to speak with him, he shared with me that he was captivated by the hummingbirds.

Hummingbirds

Admittedly, I have never stopped to look at hummingbirds. I’ve glanced, but never studied their beauty or their frame. As Patrick shared with me how he was mesmerized by these birds, I found myself caught up in their splendor. He pointed out how their wings are like the propellers of a helicopter, always flapping as they dash and dart in and out of the sky. He heard the gentle noise they made as they found flower after flower to draw nectar and nutrients from.

He videoed them, but did not want to be perceived as a threat, so he did so from a distance. He reminded me of my Grandfather, so I shared about my Grandfather with him. As we stood there exchanging words, it struck me just how beautiful and diverse people are. There I was at the Franciscan Renewal Center with a group of leaders of color from all over the United States, who are doing incredibly challenging yet divinely beautiful things: pursuing righteousness, mercy, and justice in communities, towns, tribal territories, cities, and states throughout America. What beautiful people they are!

I study people, just as Patrick studied the hummingbirds. I asked questions and listened to their stories.

Like my roommate, who lives in GA and ministers to couples alongside his wife while working in government, and used to be a middle school football coach and teacher. Or a cohortmate who is an Ethiopian American who wrote a one-woman play and has performed it in D.C., LA, and New York! Or a sister in the ministry in Oakland, California, who lives on a farm and works to create space for others in her denomination. Or one of the men who started Made For Pax and left to pastor a church in Pasadena, California, with the best church name I’ve ever heard, The Church We Hope For, who gave a profound talk about Shrewdness and the Kingdom of God! Or several Black women who have been impacted by the regressive policies of the current administration on DEI and have lost their jobs. Pastors, teachers, advocates, executive directors, writers, poets, activists, musicians, mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters, daughters and sons, and a whole host of other things—people made in the image of God.

Beautiful people doing beautiful things!

Patrick wasn't done with his observations. As we continued watching the hummingbirds dart through the air, he suddenly smiled and said, “You know what this reminds me of? Allen Iverson.” You can imagine the smile on my face as he launched into this unexpected comparison.

Allen Iverson

He shared that trying to explain both was too wonderful for him to put into words. Watching the hummingbird in its natural environment was akin to watching Iverson with a basketball in his hands, darting in and out of the lane and pivoting around and crossing over defenders.

There is something unexplainable about the hummingbird; the physiology doesn’t add up. How can such a small bird move so fast and sustain itself in flight? The same could be asked of Iverson: how can someone less than six feet tall dominate in a game that centers around height? As I reflected on this, I thought about all those who are participating in the PAX Fellowship. How can Millennial and Gen Z Christian leaders of color thrive in such an environment of hostility? How do they continue to thrive in a country of Christian colorblindness, loss of funding for organizations, the erasure of their history, and the limiting of opportunities?

Being at the PAX retreat was like watching the hummingbirds fly or Allen Iverson play basketball. It was seeing Christians of Color in their natural element. They were free to be who God created them to be. We worshipped freely, laughed, cried, debated theology, and built meaningful connections. We encouraged one another and prayed for one another. We reminded each other that we are not alone! We lamented and celebrated. We discussed heavy topics on the genocide taking place in Palestine, the issues plaguing our communities, and the deportation of people made in the image of God at the hands of the Federal Government.

We saw the gospel preached, sung, and lived out; deepening our hearts to care for the least, the last, and the lost. To seek peace, proclaim righteousness, and to act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with our God.

It was a beautiful experience!

Things Too Wonderful For Me

As Patrick and I concluded our conversation, he commented that “some things are just too wonderful for me to understand.” That remark reminded me of the words of Agur, the writer of Proverbs chapter 30. I opened this piece with verses 18 and 19, which say,

“Three things are too wondrous for me; four I can’t understand: the way of an eagle in the sky, the way of a snake on a rock, the way of a ship at sea, and the way of a man with a young woman.”

Reading Agur’s words, you can see that he was a man who pondered things deeply. He took time to think about the beauty and complexity of the world. Agur viewed life in light of God’s bigness, but admitted that he was limited in his understanding because of his lowly nature.

I left the PAX Retreat with a sense of the bigness of God. It’s not that I agreed with every word from every speaker or every perspective; there was much that I found myself wrestling with. Things I disagreed with and moments of extreme joy and beauty. But I left with a feeling that God is big enough for all of us. That there is grace and space for us in Christ along the journey! What may be clear to me at this stage of my journey may not be to another brother or sister on their stage of the journey and vice versa, and that’s okay.

Christianity is not about perfection but about pursuit. I saw men and women who are faithfully pursuing after the heart of Jesus, boldly proclaiming the need for Jesus, Justice, and a New Generation of disciples. For the church to be called back to the Scripture, for systems of oppression to be broken, and for “justice to run down like a river, and righteousness like a mighty stream” (Amos 5:24).

It was all too wonderful for me, but like my new friend Patrick and my Grandfather, I will continue to gaze at beautiful things and participate in the cultivation of beauty!