Dan!
Your announcement got me thinking, and
from my point of pew….
Butterfly Borscht and a Jug of Milk
A: Until You Get Further Directions... :)
Before we get started, copy and print out the butterfly below. Then cut it out and insert a stick pin into it. Set aside until you get further directions at the end of this blog.
Before we get started, copy and print out the butterfly below. Then cut it out and insert a stick pin into it. Set aside until you get further directions at the end of this blog.
B: What Could Go Wrong if We Choose to Remember...or Forget?
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OK, now here’s another
question. Does the flap of a butterfly’s
wings in Brazil set off a tornado in Texas? [1] Does here
change there? A now
change a later? Or can an inside
change an outside? In other words, how do even the tiniest
changes here eventually alter the
path of larger events there? How does
the smallest of decisions now change,
delay, accelerate, or even prevent larger incidents later? Do first circumstances inside something domino-down a daisy-chain of events to end up
looking very different outside?
In short, how little does a change, an action, or a
decision need to happen before the after-effects brushes up against twin
towers, tornadoes, or stone-covered tombs?
And here’s another question. Can we really
determine how things go? Can we ever be so smart, so well-organized, so
prayed up, or so lucky or unlucky as to control
how life ends up?
D: The Guy Who Put "Small Choices: Random Choices" into an Equation
OK, I admit it: I flunked Grade 10 math, so maybe that’s what I would have been thinking!
But think of a millionth of something: a millionth of a
banana, a millionth of a cup of coffee, a millionth of your favorite
pizza. Draw it here, I dare you:
It gets pretty small, eh? So, what’s the big dif?
Dr. Lorenz noticed “the big dif”! Even
though a different number of events all
started at exactly the same place, when each had its course (mistakenly and)
microscopically altered, each event ultimately spiraled off onto its own course and ended up at a very different place.
1. As in three balls starting at the same place on top of a hill, each – with a puff of wind, a drop of rain, or a rut of sludge – ending up in different places at the bottom of the hill;
2. As in three milkweed pods on a single plant splitting open, sending their tufted seeds into the air, each – with a hurried hiker, a summer storm, and a forest fire – ending up in different areas;
3. As in a set of triplets given up at birth, each – with a stroke of a fine-line pen, a pressured quick good-bye, and three foreign adoptive parents – ending up never meeting again.
1. As in three balls starting at the same place on top of a hill, each – with a puff of wind, a drop of rain, or a rut of sludge – ending up in different places at the bottom of the hill;
2. As in three milkweed pods on a single plant splitting open, sending their tufted seeds into the air, each – with a hurried hiker, a summer storm, and a forest fire – ending up in different areas;
3. As in a set of triplets given up at birth, each – with a stroke of a fine-line pen, a pressured quick good-bye, and three foreign adoptive parents – ending up never meeting again.
Small changes, random and unplanned,
set into
motion very different results.
And the
small changes are often unplanned, unannounced, and unaccounted for!
NO FAIR!!!!
Dr. Lorenz called this randomness the Butterfly Effect. When
the numerical data on each course of Dr. Lorenz’s events was plotted onto a
line graph, it looked like the one below. Each color represents one event.
When the data was transformed into a 3-D graph, it
looked like this - a cool butterfly-looking model. [3]
Take a quick peek also at the YouTube animation of the butterfly effect graph, also known as the Lorenz Attractor. A It'sa computerized model of how three beginnings all
started at the same point but ended up at very different end-points,
simply because of a random mathematical difference to the millionths!
Hence the idea Does
the flap of a butterfly’s wings in Brazil (one small event) impact the tornado in Texas (a huge
event)?
E: The Impact of Jesus' Choices
Mark 9
Jesus, in Mark
9, made small decisions too. He chose to
transfigure himself from the inside out – and later Peter, James, and John would
learn what “rising from the dead” would mean.[4] Jesus gave a demon its marching orders – and later
the disciples exorcized devils for themselves.[5] Jesus cuddled a child – and later the
disciples thought better about fighting over who “budged first into line,” a
wee bit worried about being dropped off in the middle of the lake with a stone
around their necks, two-handed and sharp-eyed with 20/20 vision, sure, but from
a room with a view - in hell.[6]
But
Jesus perhaps may not have known then (OK,
no splitting theological hairs here on pre-destination or the omniscience of
Christ) the impact he would have on
·
the abolishing of infanticide
and gladiator debacles in Rome, slavery in the US, and cannibalism in some
primitive societies,
·
the education of the poor,
·
the establishing of hospitals,
heterosexual, monogamous marriage, and the Red Cross,
·
civil rights for women, children,
and African-Americans,
·
the inventions of the
calculator, pasteurization, modern chemistry, the three laws of motion, and
much more,
·
as well as provision of
magnificent works of literature, art, and music by Dante, Chaucer, Donne,
Dostoevsky, Shakespeare, Dickens, Milton, Handel, Bach, Vivaldi, and
others, all of whom were professing Christians.[7]
One act of exorcism, one cuddle, one lecture on not budging in, one
holding of the hand of a corpse, one defiant act against an oppressive
Pharisaical system - and we now gaze at “The Creation of Adam” prints in
hospitals that allow African-Americans to drink safe water at a public drinking
fountain.
Who knew?!
Who knew?!
F: The Night My Choices Set My Course
I
blamed God, for a moment. Why?!
But then the strongest warning came over me in that blackness and mayhem. I undeniably realized in that very moment - in the flutter of a butterfly’s wings - that should I dare ask the wrong questions now, should I dare lose what little footing of faith I had in that moment, and should I dare raise a fist or a finger to point, or rail, or challenge, or renounce, the inflooding darkness-of-soul would far surpass the darkness of this night. My husband was dead, and now was not the time to dance with the devil to the tune of a crisis of faith. Now was the time to flail on butterfly’s wings to a place I could not know.
I
pulled my grown son into my arms, weirdly quiet and numb with trauma. I pressed his ear to my mouth and I told him
– no, commanded him – “We are going to do this right, hear me? Let’s do this right! Promise me!
Promise me, right here!” Before
we were told to leave, before we were told that my husband was dead, we
promised each other that if it took us to the very guts of our inside-out-selves,
we would survive this, and survive it well.
One butterfly fell from the sky that September eve, but we would be
found riding tornadoes for the six-second count.
What we choose,
the choices we do have control over,
DO matter!
G: Do-overs and Choosing Differently
Who would you rather kiss
on the very first date if you had to choose?
How big a bet you'd make
on your very first game if you couldn't lose?
What would you rather wear
on the very first dance with the one you like?
And how would you really sing
on a difficult song with a broken mike?
Small decisions,
life incisions,
big in retrospect
Bracing gently,
consequently,
the butterfly effect.
Where would you rather go
on your very last June that you spent apart?
What would you leave behind
on your very last smile before you depart?
Who would you rather kiss
on your very last chance of another start?
And how would you rise again
on a difficult slope with a broken heart?
Small decisions,
life incisions
big in retrospect.
Scopeless seeding,
always feeding,
the butterfly effect.
H: Pastor Dan's Choice: It Affects How We Choose
This
past Sunday, Pastor Dan announced he would be resigning next year. Faces froze.
Breath stopped. Thoughts
swirled. Twenty years of blood, sweat
and tears, of prayer, politics and provision for this church – coming to an end
and soon to be memories. He has made a decision,
perhaps several decisions.
The trajectory has been set. We cannot see where the butterfly wings will take him and his family - or us as a church and individuals. However, guaranteed, the path will be elegant beyond words, for God`s plans – the paths he has ordered for us – are exquisitely stunning! And although the pulls and pressures, and weights and wills of this world appear random, God is in control, and He has a spectacular trajectory for each one of us!
The trajectory has been set. We cannot see where the butterfly wings will take him and his family - or us as a church and individuals. However, guaranteed, the path will be elegant beyond words, for God`s plans – the paths he has ordered for us – are exquisitely stunning! And although the pulls and pressures, and weights and wills of this world appear random, God is in control, and He has a spectacular trajectory for each one of us!
I: Our Choice: Know that God's in Control
J: Choosing the Right Things to Do or Say Even when You Know It'll Be Tough
I
want to take the butterfly-effect-and-change metaphor one step further.
The
caterpillar knows change is inevitable. Infinitesimally
tiny cells inside the caterpillar, called imaginal cells, contain DNA codes for wings, legs, antennae, and organs. The photo to the left is one of the
wings.
They lie dormant,
stalled, inside the caterpillar`s tube-like body – until a hormonal switch
sends a message coursing through its being: spin
a protective chrysalis about yourself and don’t be afraid of what seems to a death-inducing
process.
Inside the
hardened pupa case, powerful enzymes begin to liquefy the caterpillar,
dissolving its head and spinnerets, muscles, heart and lungs … everything! This
enzyme breaks everything of the caterpillar down into a goopy soup, a borscht
of sorts - everything except the imaginal cells which envision, or imagine, the
butterfly. The soup feeds these hungry
cells, which then morph into the butterfly.
The vision of the soaring butterfly was always there, inside the looping, inching caterpillar; it just needed to endure a death-defying transformation.
The vision of the soaring butterfly was always there, inside the looping, inching caterpillar; it just needed to endure a death-defying transformation.
Pastor Dan
made a decision this summer to face change.
His imaginal cells
- the ones God himself placed inside Pastor Dan's spiritual DNA code -
have been jump-started. Again. Change isa-comin'!
His imaginal cells
- the ones God himself placed inside Pastor Dan's spiritual DNA code -
have been jump-started. Again. Change isa-comin'!
Many of you have made decisions like that too.
Your imaginal cells
- the ones God himself placed inside your spiritual DNA code -
have been jump-started too, with this announcement.
Change is a-comin'!
Your imaginal cells
- the ones God himself placed inside your spiritual DNA code -
have been jump-started too, with this announcement.
Change is a-comin'!
Things will seem to just dissolve away from under us as we face the change. It may be a big, sloppy, scary pot of soup, bubbling borscht-hot with doubt, uncertainty, mystery, difficulty, misunderstanding, and
complexity.
No matter, all our butterflies will rise flutering their wings, their courses set - and what we could not have been imagined - our tomorrows - will emerge from the "chaos."
No matter, all our butterflies will rise flutering their wings, their courses set - and what we could not have been imagined - our tomorrows - will emerge from the "chaos."
I made my own scary
decisions that fateful September to survive my own death-defying, inner-soup-foaming transformation. Deep inside of me, I held on with clenching
fingernails the image of a good, good God.
I could have decided to make the place where my husband died a curse;
instead, I decided to make it a sanctuary, where I came to pray and cry and stand
in the Light; no devil would rob me of one square inch of this earth!
I could have
decided to curl up and wither; instead, I decided to stand tall and dance in
the dark.
I could have
decided to heap ashes on my head, mourn, and pull a heavy coat of
heaviness about my shoulders; instead, I decided to put on flowers, joy, and
praise.[8]
Because I
chose life, I eventually decided to get out of myself and join an online dating
site where I met me a Mennonite man of God!
Because I chose him, I decided to leave family, friends, and career in
Alberta to marry him and move to BC, to love his mother and father, adore his
aunties, and embrace his pastor, Pastor Dan.
And because of
that, I am here in this moment, in this pew, to share with you my tragedy - and
the promise that every decision we make matters! And that those things that seem out of our
control are still significant and make a permanent and momentous difference!
K: Scriptures: Butterfly Borscht for the Soul
(Don't skip over these Bible verses; they're butterfly borscht for your soul.)
Joshua 1:9
...Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.
...Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.
Jeremiah 29:11
"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."
"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."
Psalm 71:5
For You are my hope, O Lord GOD;
You are my trust from my youth.
For You are my hope, O Lord GOD;
You are my trust from my youth.
Proverbs 3:5-6
Trust in the LORD with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make your paths straight.
Trust in the LORD with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make your paths straight.
Proverbs 19:21
Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the LORD's purpose that prevails.
Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the LORD's purpose that prevails.
Romans 8:28
And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.
And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.
L: The Choice to Transform Beautifully is Largely Ours
Let’s remember
this as we join Pastor Dan in the transformation process, that this is not just
his journey, but OURS as well! We are
all starting out in the same place: here in the pew, unnerved, unsettled, scared,
and lost. But we can safely know that
God has flipped the switch and set into motion an awesome outcome for each one
of us, for the church, and for Pastor
Dan.
God can do anything, you know
—far more than
you could ever imagine or guess or request
in your wildest dreams!
He does it
not by pushing us around but by
working within us,
M: The Call to Stand by "Dan Our Man" - and our Church
I
am calling us to decide to stand by Pastor Dan
- and the church and ultimately
ourselves - by participating in the upcoming
transformational process, which at times might just feel like a goopy
butterfly-borscht of sorts.
Ephesians
4:19-21
Let’s take on an entirely new way of life—a God-fashioned life, a life renewed from the inside and working
itself into our conduct as God accurately reproduces his character in us.
Colossians 3:9-11
Let`s put on a new nature, and be renewed as we learn to know our Creator and become like him.
That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits
are being renewed every day.
ü
John 17:20 - Let’s become one heart
and mind – just as Jesus and the Father are one – so that those watching might
believe in the Father.
ü
Let’s be together, mature in unity, to give the godless world evidence that God
sent Christ and loves them in the same way God loves Christ.[10]
ü
Let’s make strong and powerful decisions, the ones we do have control over, that we will be proud to have made in the end
– ones that encourage, support, edify, validate, and show God.
ü Let’s roll with the consequences - even those
we have no control over - and trust God, for it’s impossible for us humans to
measure and control everything 100%. So let’s get over it, already. Be OK with this – and trust, think, expect,
believe, wait, decide ….
Your life and how
you live it, what you do with it – and the decisions you make or just roll with
–
matters forever!
How we stand together with Pastor Dan
matters!
The decisions we make to
smile at him,
support him,
honour him,
pray with him…
and to build up and not tear down,
and to speak life into Change and not curses,
and to love each other even if we don't know what's going on.
and to build up and not tear down,
and to speak life into Change and not curses,
and to love each other even if we don't know what's going on.
All of this will most certainly determine
how
stunningly impressive and significant our tomorrows, as Fraserview Church, will be!
stunningly impressive and significant our tomorrows, as Fraserview Church, will be!
So please wear
your butterfly pin this Sunday
as a show of
support for not only Pastor Dan but for us
as we make our way through this God-inspired change.
N: What Could Go Wrong if We Choose to Remember...or Forget?
Because, look it.
If you expected just a jug of milk when he came in the front door, then
take a look at this. Expand to full size
to get the full jist of it.
And that`s how
I see it, from my point of pew.
