The March

It’s the end of October. We are eight weeks away from Christmas and the start of a new year, 2015. Just last week I was seated at the water’s edge, watching the ebb and flow of the tide, almost as if it was birthing each new wave as it rolled onto the sand, only to have it rush and run back to it’s home out in the surf. Millions of tiny sparkles of sun-fire light bounced off the receding waters, blinding me for a second. The sand was soaking up as much water as it could, as it rolled over back to its home in the deep. This whole process played out in 10 seconds or less. And it’s been occurring, on schedule, since the beginning of time. I love this. I love watching the dance of creation around me and I love it when I have the time, or should I say, when I take the time, to sense, feel, hear and see it.

What were these shores like when it was nothing but sand and waves, but no people, no houses, no boardwalks, no civilization on shore or off? It was amazing, and life continued its march as set out from the beginning of time, without us present.

I was down at the coast over the last weekend, as you can tell, and came across the March of the Monarchs. I was visiting the Trinity Center with Elizabeth, to finalize her upcoming seminar for women. The young lady showing us around had us out on the beach, at the top of a dune, telling the history of this place, when a Monarch butterfly flitted past me. It rose and fell with the air currents in a way that was hypnotizing

As Elizabeth and her host talked, I noticed more and more Monarchs drifting past; dancing in the morning sea breeze. I looked north, up-shore, and saw another one, then another, and realized I was watching the last of the Monarchs as they headed south for winter.

Every fall, this majestic, magical event takes place. Monarchs conduct this migration once a year and the they go through five generations before they reach their final destination. Meaning, the trek south starts and some 5 generations later, they reach their goal. It’s instinct designed into each butterfly that keeps this magical migration up, year after year. Though the migration group ‘can’ live longer than those in captivity, they face many more dangers and perils on their journey. However their destination is the point of the journey and it ends with the cycle of life starting over for a new generation.

The Monarch, just like the waves, reflect the sunlight as they flit and flirt past me. The bobbing up and down in the sea breeze while making progress forward is amazing to watch. It is almost like they know they are on display but care little about the attention they are getting. They are going south. As I watched, I realized that none of these little air warriors will see or touch their actual destination of Mexico. These are partaking in the work of a long chain of life, that started somewhere else, and will end in Mexico.

Many are born and many die, but the March of the Monarch continues. As you know, the news around the world is bad, and many, near and far, are facing perils. Life… is marching on. It’s a gift and… it is for a season. Seeing these incredible creatures, watching the dazzling sights of sun, water, sand, dunes, and… the March of the Monarchs, renews my faith in a bigger plan, a bigger purpose, that has been marching since the beginning of time.

If I reflect, like the sun on the water, or the wind on the wings of the Monarch, I can just catch a glimpse of the importance you each hold in this life. I am sure you, just like me, might feel like you are part of a pointless chain of events sometimes, that has no beginning and has no end. But in truth, the March of Life, just like the ebb and flow of the tide and the intimate dance of the Monarch on the breeze, has a goal. It isn’t an accident. Neither are you.

Though life has its many trials, tests, and dead end roads, it also has its joys, fulfillment’s, and moments when you just know, deep in your bones, resonating through your soul, that you are here for a purpose. I could throw out a ton of verses, tons of babble (which some of you might thinks this blog already sounds like), but…

Where I started, sitting in a chair on the beach, watching the magical reflection of sun glinting off the undulating waves, or feeling myself carried away on a breeze with the Monarchs, I know, for you and me…

It is our destiny. We are living out this very moment, and it is something to be celebrated as the cycle of our lives play out on the stage of eternity.

My prayer and hope is that you sense His heart toward you, everyday.

If you are just starting out as a new wave coming into shore, or a caterpillar in its chrysalis, hold fast… your wings, or waves are coming soon. If it’s time for your waves to recede or your wings to flap their last, take heart, the journey doesn’t end here. It starts another Journey promised to us by our Heavenly Father.

Safe journeys this week.