The Butterfly Effect

"You have been created as one of a kind. On the planet Earth, there has never been one like you...and there never will be again. Your spirit, your thoughts and feelings, your ability to reason and act all exist in no one else. The rarities that make you special are no mere accident or quirk of fate. You have been created in order that you might make a difference. You have within you the power to CHANGE THE WORLD." (-The Butterfly Effect" by Andy Andrews)

I recently met with a long-time friend and former supervisor, who happens to be the Executive Director of a local ministry I have been involved in for a very long time, and she gave me a book as our meeting came to an end. Little did I know what an impact that short volume would have on me, and little did she know that I would use it to impact as many others as I could. The book was called "The Butterfly Effect," and was written by Andy Andrews. If you haven't read it, please do! It will take all of 15 minutes, and I promise you your life will be forever changed. So powerful was this book, that I immediately felt God pressing on my heart to share this with the AWO kids as soon as possible. We had a trip to Grand Bay scheduled for October 1, so I decided that would be the perfect opportunity.

Each week since my last blog I have been transporting as many kids as are interested to the Elevate Youth meetings at NCC. Our numbers grow each week, and through this new outreach I have met so many new kids! I was excited to be able to sit down and get to know some of the newer teens this past weekend, and could not wait to share what I recently learned with them. We had 24 kids hop into the vans on Saturday, and we started our journey out to Grand Bay. Once there, we handed everyone a sack lunch and a bottle of water for the trek, and headed out on the trails. When we got to a covered pavillion we stopped for a rest and to enjoy our picnic lunches. While the kids ate I began to share with them the message of the compact little book. The basic premise of the text is that a movement as small as a butterfly's wing has the potential to cause a hurricane on the other side of the planet. This is, in fact, a summarized version of an actual law of physics which has been proven and is taught in universities world-wide. The book describes in detail how the lives of certain notable historical figures (such as George Washington Carver) had such an enormous impact and still continues to impact us today. He describes the "flapping of their butterfly wings" as small actions they took, with little thought as to the tremendous effect they would have. I gave each person there a butterfly of their own to serve as a daily reminder to them of the potential impact each of them have on everyone around them, and even on the world. I went on to discuss God's plan for their lives, their Divine purpose, and how we cannot take even our day-to-day lives lightly. We must keep ourselves holy and pure so that God can enact His plan in our lives, and so that we can fulfill His purpose for us with excellence.

As we talked, God sent a few real butterflies flitting in our midst, an awesome reminder of His presence with us at all times. We marveled at His creation around us, and I suggested that the kids themselves are something to marvel at, as well. How wonderful is our Creator, and how perfect is His vision for our lives! How could we ever want anything other than His perfect will for us?

With this in mind, I will continue "flapping my wings" with every child God sends my way, in the hopes that I might, as did George Washington Carver, have an impact on someone that resonates around the world for eternity. I thank each of you for "flapping your wings", too, in the small and big ways you support Arms Wide Open and all that we do! Know that every little thing you do has a BIG impact and will be remembered for years to come!