October 6: Keep Working on This Butterfly

“I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work among you will bring it to completion by the day of Jesus Christ.” - Philippians 1:6

I watched my tween twins painting on a rainy afternoon. As I sipped my coffee I reveled in a moment of bliss at their creative outpourings. The Girl was painting dinosaurs and the Boy was making butterflies. As I patted myself on the back for having such well-rounded kids, the Girl reached over and made a big black mark in the middle of his painting. The NERVE of her! They began to bicker. “Why would you do that?!” my son exclaimed as he stormed to the trash can and threw his painting in. “You ruined everything.” For him this was an act of violence. It destroyed his vision. His sister came and took his painting from the trash. She said, “I don’t know why I did that. And I wish I could fix it for you, but it is your art. Don’t give up on it yet. Keep working on it. Maybe it can still be a beautiful butterfly.” In Philippians 1:6 it says, “I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work among you will bring it to completion by the day of Jesus Christ.” Sometimes life gets messed up. Sometimes our vision becomes no longer possible. That doesn’t mean that God is done with us, or that we belong in the trash bin. God is completing the good work that was begun in you. You might have to work harder with God to help the vision be realized, but God is not done with you yet. Whether we make a mistake or the world thrusts something on us, there is an opportunity to let God work on it.

Loving God, remind us that no matter how messed up life seems you are with us and are working to complete the work of beauty you created them to be. Amen.

*****
Susanna Orensky is the Senior pastor at Deltona Christian Church in Deltona, Florida, where she has served for two years. She is completing her seminary work at Lexington Theological Seminary and has been approved for ordination. Susanna served as the student pastor at First Christian Church Daytona and as a youth pastor at Pershing Avenue Christian Church for 8 years. She and her husband Hal have three children, Ben and Rachel who are 14 years old twins and Eden who is 12. Susanna enjoys multigenerational ministry and is especially passionate about justice work.

*****

A Little More... It's Okay to Make Mistake by Todd Parr https://www.amazon.com/Okay-Make-Mistakes-Todd-Parr/dp/0545801303/

Our 2016 prayer vigil theme is Helping Our Children Heal from Violence. For more resources visit  disciplesjustice4children.org and docfamiliesandchildren.org.