TATTERED AND TORN

We had a wonderful Prayer meeting service last evening. Many had testified how God is helping them through many trials and difficulties. Some had testified how God has protected them or a family member. We had a good season of prayer and the presence of God was with us. My husband did not get to give the message he had prepared, but he gave us the Title which was Fresh Oil and the scripture was Psalm 92:10 I shall be anointed with fresh oil. I had found this article and would like to share it with you sometimes we may be going through something that we can only tell God and this little illustration really helped me!

The Eastern Tiger Swallowtail which is our state butterfly here in Virginia is one of those peaceful gliders. They seem to be able to take life as it comes, deal with it and keep on moving through until it's time for them to pass on to Butterfly Heaven.We've had a number of tattered and torn butterflies passing through. I watch them with much attention to detail and find that they are doing exactly what the beautiful butterflies are doing. It's what butterflies were made to do. The average life span of an adult butterfly is only one to two weeks. Seemingly nothing in our eyes compared to our average life span.

It made me ponder what my own reaction is when I get tattered and torn by life nipping at my heels. When I feel like I've had a chunk of who I am taken away, what do I do? The butterflies know what to do. They keep doing what they know to do. We were created by the same Creator that made the butterflies and I know that within us is the ability to keep on doing what we know to do .... AND to do it with peace in our souls.We can take life's challenges and use them as stepping stones, like the donkey that fell into a dry well. After the farmer tried without success to get him out and no longer heard the donkey's cries, he decided to fill up the well with dirt as a memorial. As he shoveled dirt in, it came down on the tired, hungry, thirsty and worn out donkey's back. With all that the donkey could must he shook off each shovelful of dirt and stepped on it. It wasn't long until he could see that he was rising closer to the top of the well, so he just kept shaking it off and stepping on it.

I think we can muster our determination in any situation to keep doing the simple, routine, and mundane things in life while we deal with the wolves around us. In doing so, we will find peace and joy in the midst of it all and we will be fed the dew of Heaven as our Father watches over us and provides us nectar that provides Living Water to flow through us.Tattered and torn? It doesn't matter. Our time, like the butterflies, is very short here on earth in comparison to Eternity, so we need to redeem our time wisely while we are here and be about our Father's business. We can float and fly on in peace regardless of the storms and wolves that may be nipping at your heels.

Tattered and Torn
By Donna L. Watkins