I hesitate to type this blog post because I am afraid I will give you the wrong impression of me.
I am afraid it will make you think that I am some dog poop obsessed weirdo. That’s not true at all. The fact is I have 4 dogs now and have had more dogs in the last 28 years than I can count without a pen and paper, so I do have experience with dog poop.
Last week I saw something white sticking up in the grass and I couldn’t tell what it was. When I walked over to get a better look, I was totally shocked! One of my dogs had eaten a snake and POOPED OUT A SNAKE SKELETON! Later after going out to pee, one of my dogs actually brought the little treasure in and I snapped a picture when I threw it away because it is the kind of thing that doesn’t happen to other people and I needed documentation. I will share the picture at the bottom, but I’m not going to throw it into the middle of this post.
However, as I took the picture, it occurred to me that it was the second time I had taken a picture of dog poop. This is the first picture.
I took it because butterflies were in my driveway just flying around something on the ground and I went to take a closer look and discover they were hovering over poop! AND THEN THEY LANDED ON IT AND STAYED THERE!
The juxtaposition of these two things was almost artistic to me.
Why would a butterfly, that was supposed to feast on beautiful, lovely smelling flowers and could fly anywhere to find them, choose to be on dog poop? After researching a little, it turns out that any kind of animal waste has nutrients for a butterfly, but still, WHY?
I mean pine needles are really high in vitamin C but if I have my choice of chewing pine needles or eating oranges, strawberries or Brussels sprouts, I’m gonna be skipping the needle nourishment! (Fun fact I discovered about Brussels sprouts when I looked up how to spell Brussels because I’m a terrible speller: they are called Brussels sprouts because they are were first grown in Belgium back in the day and they are Brussels sprouts if you are talking about more than one and one is a Brussels sprout. You’re welcome and I’m glad you could benefit from my inadequacies in spelling.)
Back to the topic at hand which, if you need reminding, is butterflies on poop. Butterflies on poop are a perfect metaphor for how we sometimes live our lives.
Philippians 4:19 says, “And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.” and Ephesians 3:20 says, “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us”.
We have things available to us according to the riches of his glory – not just things. EVERYTHING.
What is the greatest thing you can imagine? Ephesians says God can do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine. I don’t know about you, but I can imagine some pretty awesome stuff! The Lord wants to give us the desires of our hearts. He wants good things for us. He gives us talents and abilities to use for him to move us forward in life and to glorify him and what do we do? We cop a squat on the dog poop and say a prayer of thanksgiving for the nourishment!
Don’t get me wrong, we should be thankful for everything the Lord provides for us, even if it is dog poop, but we should use our talents and abilities to FLY! Fly to the flowers and don’t camp out on the poop – physically or mentally! Don’t let good be good enough. Ask the Lord to point you in the direction of the flower bed because I truly believe he will!
My prayer for today:
Lord, thank you for everything you provide me with, no matter how humble. Thank you for providing for me in sometimes unexpected ways. Help me Lord to recognize and acknowledge the talents you have given me and to see opportunities to use them in the world for your glory. Amen.
Have a wonderful week and be blessed!
OK for those of you poop (or snake or skeleton) obsessed weirdos…
