Butterfly & Buffalo

Years ago I was sitting at a conference listening to Gary Smalley speak when he shared a story about the Butterfly and the Buffalo. Not long into the story it became apparent that he was speaking about Coach Wonderful & I. Do we know this man I wondered? I could actually hear music as I listened to him describe the Butterfly gliding about. In my head I could hear the violins, the perky piano, the flute, the harps - the strings, the beautiful strings and happy, light melodious music. Then enter the Buffalo and I heard loud drums and tubas and the percussion instruments thundering, precise, slow, low and heavy. Oh my, I always did feel the earth move when Coach Wonderful walks into my world.

Mr. Smalley continued to explain that the butterfly has a keen sensitivity. It is sensitive even to the slightest breeze. It flutters above the ground where it can get a panoramic awareness of its surroundings. It notices the beauty of even the tiniest of flowers. Because of its sensitivity, it is constantly aware of all of the changes going on around it and is able to react to the slightest variation it its environment. Thus, the butterfly would react with swiftness toward anything that might hurt it. If a tiny pebble were taped to its wing, the butterfly would be severely injured and eventually die.

The buffalo is another story. It is rough and calloused. It doesn’t react to a breeze. It’s not even affected by a thirty-mile-an-hour wind. It just goes right on doing whatever it was doing. It’s not aware of the smallest of flowers, nor does it appear to be sensitive to slight changes in its environment. Tape a pebble to the buffalo’s back and he probably won’t even feel it. The buffalo isn’t ‘rotten to the core’ just because he goes around stepping on pretty flowers. In fact, the buffalo’s toughness is a tremendous asset.

Ok, I get it – so I flit about and he has the density of a rock. So how is a butterfly expected to get along with a buffalo that kicks up boulders on a regular basis?

A pearl to string: Through the GRACE OF GOD. Sigh! Pebble pitching is out, dying to self is in. Let Scripture be your guide and learn the secret of respecting your buffalo which unlocks the love a butterfly needs to thrive and flit.

1 Peter 3:4 “Be beautiful inside, in your hearts, with the lasting charm of a gentle and quiet spirit which is so precious to God”.

Fill your heart with the Word and your soul will fill up with blessings and grace.
Singing in His Son shine
Lyndi