I Killed a Butterfly

 

I single-handedly killed, not one, but at least a dozen butterflies yesterday. A dozen!

I winced over each one.

Never before in 24 years had I seen so many butterflies in the first two miles from our home. There were hundreds – dancing in the over-grown weeds and all over our country roads!

Why this tragedy?

An email.

Pushing up against a deadline, I attempted to crank out one last email before I had to depart for an important appointment. My five-minute window for this email took ten. With no margin for error, I would now be late.

Despite attempting to slow down and navigate through this plethora of dancing, darting, beautiful creatures (of all sizes and color), I was not willing to drive 5 miles an hour.

Why?

I was in a hurry.

Here’s a question for us all. How much of my day am I in a hurry?

Then we need to ask ourselves, because of this hurry, what gets . . .

  • Neglected?
  • Marginalized?
  • Rushed?
  • Trampled?

Are you chronically in a hurry on your way to work? School? Church? Meetings?

What can you do today to plan for a buffer zone? How can you create some breathing room as your travel from place to place? Can you build in 5-7 extra minutes of margin?

This might just be enough time to . . .

  • Take note of God’s beautiful world
  • Be aware of the condition of your soul
  • Chat with a gas station attendant
  • Breathe
  • Not kill a dozen butterflies

What do you think?

It just might be worth it.

First time here?

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