Time For Me To Fly
There is a very fine line between faith and foolishness. Sometimes it’s hard to discern the difference. For quite a while now I’ve been planting the seeds of my own business in anticipation of one day going out on my own. Recently, I have been presented with a business opportunity that is simply too good to pass up. And yet, while the dollars and cents of things makes this a no-brainer on my end, I have also worked hard to seek out God’s will for my life in this regard. He knows this is what I want to happen, but what does He want to happen? Often, it’s hard to tell. As the father of three, there are big time responsibilities to consider as well.
This past week, I had reached the point where I was contemplating submitting my resignation at “the day job”. The effort I was putting into my new projects was beginning to conflict with my regular duties at work, and I was beginning to become convicted of the conflict of interest. But there was one major piece of the puzzle that had yet to fall into place – one that I swore would be in place before I would resign. I was completely unsure of what to do. I left the house on the day I was hoping to resign, resigned to wait another few days. I had interpreted certain events from that morning as God’s way of telling me to wait.
However, after getting into my car and driving just a few houses down the street, I noticed something on my driver’s side windshield wiper. It was a beautiful Monarch butterfly (which happens to be my favorite). I immediately pulled over and got out. At first, I thought it might be injured, as I blew on it and waved my hand around it and it did not fly away. But then I put my open hand right down next to it and it climbed right on. We looked at each other, the butterfly and I, for about 15 seemingly long seconds. And then, the butterfly flew away.
In that moment, I knew what I had to do. You can believe whatever you want to believe, but I believe that God used that beautiful creature to make me understand that as far as He was concerned, it was time for me to spread my wings and fly. And so I have…
Suddenly, it’s so amazing to turn and look back at the path that has brought me here – lined with opportunities and open doors, one-time obstacles that became stepping stones, and changes of direction that could only have come from the guiding hand of God. It took the totality of all of the events and trials I have been through to both bring me to and prepare me for this new and exciting chapter in my life.
It’s so easy to become consumed by the din and pace of our every day lives that we miss the gentle leading of our Lord. It would have been so easy for me to just keep on driving that morning, knowing that once I got up to 20 mph or so, that butterfly would have blown off on its own. This time, thankfully, I was listening. I was on high alert for the guidance I so desperately needed. As usual, God came through in the most unsuspected and mysterious way.
Little Drops of Nectar 
Awesome Marcus! Congrats on your ability to recognize freedom when it was offered and then to take it!
The faithful have always been looked upon as being foolish…we have a different “flight pattern”. “The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord: and he delighteth in his way.” Psalm 37:23