June 25, 2008
Having
just planted a few flower gardens in my backyard I am starting to get a myriad
of birds, squirrels and things come to visit. As I sit watching them come and go
I was thinking about a few of my visitors.
Butterflies
and hummingbirds are two of the few things in life that I've never met or read
of someone who had a fear of. I've never met a person who said they hated either
butterflies or hummingbirds.
For
whatever reason, both often evoke delight in people. I'm always thrilled when I
see a hummingbird (they're not really common in these parts) and I like the
bright colors and gentle motion of a butterfly.
I've
heard an old saying many times, but I don't really know where it's from. I've
heard it told with both butterflies and hummingbirds. “The winds of our land
are the stirring of a butterfly's (or a hummingbird's) wings a world away”
Roughly
translated, it means that the impact of small things can be felt a long way off.
Neither the butterfly nor the hummingbird may ever know of the winds their wings
created.
Our
Christian walk can be like that. Something small that we've done or said
(without even realizing that we've done or said it) can have a profound impact
on others. I've read stories of families where there have been generations of
pastors come from a great-grandparent who came to know Christ through a small
act of Christian love by a stranger.
I
look back on my own journey to faith and I can see that people planted seeds
along the way that lead me along my way. These are people I didn't know or with
whom I have no contact. They won't ever know of their impact until we get to
heaven.
Sometimes
we get discouraged because we walk in faith and don't see any results. That
doesn't mean we're not having an impact. What we do or say can impact the friend
of a friend of a friend, or can take years to bear fruit.
God's
word tells us that even when we don't see the results our efforts are not
futile.
1
Corinthians 15:58
Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give
yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in
the Lord is not in vain.
Until
next time, when the enemy is nagging at you to stop because what you are doing
is futile remember the winds that the wings of a butterfly or hummingbird cause.
Don't give up, take heart you are making a difference.
The
smallest seed planted, brings forth a wonder and beautiful garden in time!
Darrel
Mason