I watched a monarch

I watched a monarch fluttering,
Flower face to flower face.
There are no straight lines
To a butterfly’s path,
No efficiency,
And yet she goes about her task,
Quietly, unobtrusively.
She is not deterred by playing children,
(in fact she delights them,
And they stomp in pursuit of her),
Nor is she swayed by noon’s sun
Nor the breeze nor knowledge of risk or danger.
She floats and drifts,
Her delicate wings a riot of color
And does the task God has assigned.
Not even her fragility keeps her
From carrying out her task.

So should we be undeterred
In the tasks God sets before us.
Though we may be tossed by the winds of life
Though our paths may seem circuitous,
Though we may feel (and be!) breakable
May we persevere –
Quietly, faithfully carrying out,
The tasks God sets before us,
Big or small.

For while there is beauty found in the fluttering monarch,
How much more beauty is found in souls,
Reflecting the glory of the One who made them,
In sweet obedience to His words.

Photo by Erin Minuskin on Unsplash