Streams of Mercy

We are blessed at Jackson Springs Presbyterian to have a very special “time with our children” each Sunday. As the little ones gather on the front row, the adult “children” in our congregation sit on the edge of their pews waiting to hear the message too!

During the summer months we are focusing on “all creatures great and small” and learning facts about many of God’s unique creations. From week to week we meet different animals and learn what makes them special.

Last Sunday we learned about a caterpillar creating a chrysalis. We saw each chrysalis hanging from the top of the jar, and we watched and waited. The jar was placed in a butterfly house in the corner of the conference room. During the week, when the transformation was complete, a beautiful butterfly emerged from each chrysalis. This morning we saw the butterflies fluttering about in the butterfly house, and the children carried it through the congregation so all the “adult children” could see up close as well. After the prayer and before they went to Children’s Church, the group of four little girls took the butterfly house to the butterfly bushes at the manse, and after giving each butterfly one of their names, released them. I believe I saw all four of them enjoying the blooms on the butterfly bushes!

We read 2 Corinthians 5:17: “So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation; everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!” It’s easy to see why the butterfly is a symbol for new life – everything old passes away and everything is made new! So it is in your life and mine through God’s work of grace in our Lord Jesus Christ. “In Christ” we are new creations!

I attended the birthday of a member of a former congregation a month or so ago. Each one at the celebration was given a butterfly bookmark. The butterfly shape was filled with seeds, and we were instructed to “plant” the butterfly in celebration of this dear one “100 Years Loved.” At the bottom of the bookmark were these words: “Butterflies are God’s confetti, thrown upon the earth in celebration of His love.”

I came across other words about butterflies that speak volumes of heart meaning:

“Just when the caterpillar thought the world was over, it became a butterfly….. the butterfly counts not months but moments, and has time enough… We delight in the beauty of a butterfly, but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty…..Life is like a butterfly. You go through changes before you have something beautiful…… If nothing ever changed, there’d be no butterflies.”

I give thanks for children and all the ways they add joy to our lives, for stories of God’s wonderful creation for children young and old, for the process of change that adds beauty to life, and for those streams of mercy, never ceasing.

Elizabeth