For an entire week we have had a tiger swallowtail butterfly filling our yard with glorious beauty. He reels among the blooming rhododendrons and azaleas. We have been granted the pleasure of most of its life for it only takes a month from egg to aged adult. That doesn’t leave it much time to brighten the corner where it is. It reminds me of the poem by Edna St. Vincent Millay, “My candle burns at both ends. It will not last the night; but ah, my foes, and oh, my friends it gives a lovely light.”
One of the smartest men I have ever known passed away recently. As I pondered his death I could not but think of the tragic waste that lay in that coffin. He was a scholar, an administrator and a great preacher. He used to sit on the platform with me at church and follow the scripture reading in his Hebrew or Greek Bible. He was an awesome, friendly, caring man. His candle burned brightly. He decorated life with his presence. If it were not for the promises of Jesus I would be the most depressed of all men. However, Jesus leaves us no room for despair. All of that talent and all of that study was not in vain nor was all that learning for a brief moment in time. It is forever. It is not to lay fallow but to live again and breathe again and shine again. All that we attain now is a stepping stone for a bigger and better tomorrow. God is into growth.
My tiger swallowtail will soon be dashed to the ground in a summer storm or suffer some similar fate. I wish it could know how much it was appreciated.
Written by Roger Bothwell on May 24, 2010
Spring of Life Ministry, PO Box 124, St. Helena, CA 94574
Rogerbothwell.org