Follow the Butterflies…

I’ve always been one to look at little things and find beauty in them. Sometimes I stop to appreciate the stillness of the water in the Harbor where I live and see the flowers on the side of the road. I can usually find anything and try to see how the Lord uniquely designed it to be beautiful. I love sunsets, music, bumblebees, trees, mountains, rain, and people alike. There are some parts of creation I don’t believe I’ll ever be able to fully understand *mainly spiders and insects of any kind* but for the most part, I have a well-rounded perspective of nature and its various attractions.

Recently, I’ve spent a lot of time sitting with the Lord, because I love Him and because I haven’t had many other options haha. Spraining an ankle gives you time to sit back and watch what He’s doing. Every moment that I’ve been alone, or processing why He’s put me here, God has sent me a butterfly. I know it may sound a little goofy, but if you’ve ever seen the Disney movie “Brave”, the best way I can describe it is almost like following the wisps. They pop up at random moments, and it’s as if the Lord is just popping in and saying hi. Those moments are reminders that everything happening has a purpose, and that He’s walking with me every step of the way.

One of my teammates is from Thailand, and her name is Arwyn. Over the last three weeks, she has become one of my closest friends. You can only imagine our surprise when I told her about my ongoing conversation with the Lord through butterflies, and she immediately matched it with how He speaks to her through caterpillars. We made jokes about how we were a perfect match, and it brought a lot of peace to me. I felt understood and seen by such a simple piece of common ground. We grew up with two vastly different lifestyles, in different locations, and yet the Lord still speaks to us both all the same. Butterflies here have signified renewal and new creation. We’ve talked about how they start as caterpillars and go through a transformation much like us being made new in Christ.

One of the things God has challenged me to do is look up. Stop focusing on my injury, or inwardly on my heart, but set my eyes on Him. Throughout last week, He challenged me to watch others in worship. The idea behind it was that I needed to slow down so that I could see how God meets with each of us individually and draws us close. Really, it was an exercise of remembering I’m not the only person in the room. Through this, I’ve seen my new family spread out in the same room encountering God in different ways. Some of us practice blindfolded worship – an exercise of fully taking others out of the picture to focus on God. Others are facedown on the ground with arms extended in adoration, alongside those in the process of healing before Him. There are those of us who jump up and down, singing at the top of our lungs, completely undignified before the King. I’ve seen the Holy Spirit descend upon my friends, where they get a taste of His presence and it has radically changed my perspective of worship. People laugh, cry, minister to each other, and get made new in the presence of the Father.

All that to say, God is here. He’s moving, present, active, and teaching us lessons all across the board. It is a blessing to be surrounded by people willing to step out and see what He has in store for us each day. One day in worship, we had 10 minutes of complete silence, just meeting with Him. Personally, a lot of my relationship with God currently takes place in these little moments with butterflies, my morning devotionals on the steps of the dining deck, and the time I spend with the guitar I borrow from Squad Leader Bill. Every moment here feels more like home, and excitement only grows, as we leave for Florida in seven days!

This sweet butterfly is Eloise, she is one of the many butterflies that have come across my path since coming to Georgia – being held by my incredibly kind teammate Ella. God is so good!