Embrace Butterflies Yes, it’s so easy to do! Figuratively.
Butterflies represent emergence to me
Build a chrysalis – Then sequester for a while. Pop! You’re beautiful!
No longer a worm!!
We all sequestered – We had to during COVID- Now we’re emerging.
Coming out brilliantly
Some folks are fearful – Thinking COVID’s not over. Maybe it isn’t.
Is the pandemic behind us?
With the variant Running rampant in places, Some crawled back inside.
Tiptoe outside carefully
Some still wear their masks; Some won’t go to restaurants – Prefer home dining.
Depends where you live
Remaining inside Is important for some folks – Others spread their wings.
Unique!
Like these butterflies, Each situation’s different. So, to each his own!
One of the lessons I learned during this past year and a half or so is that no two people react exactly the same to the same stimulus. We hear through our own filters. We see through our own past experiences. We can’t lay our trip on someone else! We all built our own chrysalis and stayed inside as long as we felt we needed to. Some are inside still. We all will emerge more beautiful in our own sweet time, if we allow our “feelers” to engage with our own needs while respecting the needs of others.
Embrace the butterfly. Fly when you’re ready. See ya in Big Sky!
It is our uniqueness that makes us An interesting, diverse, beautiful world. We fly our flags in different colors, But in reality we’re all one world unfurled.
Let’s embrace our uniqueness And celebrate how we see things differently While remembering we are more alike Than not… and we’re all designed magnificently!
There’s no one on earth like me; No one in the whole world like you, So embrace your uniqueness, my friend… Share with others your point of view.
No one sees life quite like you do. No one can paint or write as you do. Let your expression of life splash out of you And help others see the world anew.
He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, He has put eternity into man’s heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end.
Just as no pot created on the potter’s wheel Ends up looking just like another pot, And yet each is beautiful in its own way, So each of us beautiful – no one is not!
Something beautiful, something good – All my confusion He understood. All I had to offer Him was brokenness and strife, But He made something beautiful of my life.
Give your brokenness and strife to God. Let Him make something beautiful in you. Then share it – as only you can do – So others can appreciate their uniqueness, too.
Use your unique qualities to make the world a better place. Don’t judge others or turn them away because they’re different. Embrace them. Love them. Appreciate the way they add color to your world. Know God designed each of us intentionally … be reverent!
I love you, my friend. Thank you for adding your uniqueness to my world. See ya tomorrow.
Sermon notes
from message based on
John 17:20-26
“That They May Be One.”
Jesus prayed for Oneness
For each divided sect.
As He is One with God,
He prayed we will show respect.
.
The ways in which we
Polarize ourselves here
Is tiring. It saddens me.
It brings no one cheer.
.
All people are more similar
Than different from each other.
We establish boundaries
To separate from our brothers.
.
We do it to prove that
We are right and we’re accepted.
We name others as losers
And place them outside – rejected.
.
Jesus prayed that we would just
Love One another – differences and all.
He prayed for our Oneness.
Honor uniqueness; stand tall!
.
Oneness is not about eliminating
The differences we see.
It’s about loving our uniqueness.
Love your neighbor, even your enemy!
.
It is about Oneness with God;
It’s a boundary-less love.
It’s only possible with help
From the Divine Source above.
.
If we call ourselves Christian,
We must stop bickering and be
The loving children our Creator intended.
Love differences; love even me!
.
Be one with all.
In Christ’s Love we Pray, Amen.
.
JanBeek’s poetic notes from a sermon by Rev. Jean Johnson at the Madison Valley Presbyterian Church Ennis, Montana June 2, 2019
What will you do today to demontrate your love for one another? See you tomorrow
