Sulphur Butterfly 2003 (seem to be year round)

 

November 25, 2005

Lk 21:29-33
Jesus told his disciples a parable. “Consider the fig tree and all the other trees. When their buds burst open, you see for yourselves and know that summer is now near; in the same way, when you see these things happening, know that the Kingdom of God is near. Amen, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place.
Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.”
The fig tree is sign of what time of the year it is. When the branches begin to bear fruit it is an early sign that the summer has just begun. It is a reliable sign and always one of the first signs of summer. The words of Jesus are like the pattern of the trees and seasons they will always be with us. It is a beautiful parable that Heaven is near just as the summer is near when the fig tree blossoms. God for me is often speaking to my heart in the patterns and rhythms of the yearly cycles of nature. The butterflies are still here but some of certain types are slowly disappearing. There are less, almost no Monarchs for example. The winds are blowing more. The air at night is cooler. Some of the birds are changing their nesting areas now others are staying and more are coming from other cooler places. The rhythm of winter is beginning to become more apparent on walks through the fields and groves in the last week. Even the winter sun feels different than the summer sun. Some leaves have dried and fallen others are dried and still clinging to the trees yet.

The patterns of winter are more subtle in the green tropical climate of central Florida but they are becoming more clear the last week or two. Yesterday, I saw two "Queen" butterflies laying eggs on what looked like English Ivy leaves. I also saw several bluebirds. I feel that God speaks to me loudest in the quiet and beauty of nature.