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Monday, October 4, 2010

A Touch of Grace

God has often connected with me through nature. This is a new experience for me which has come about through taking time to pay attention to Him. I have had a lot of encounters with dragonflies. They are beautiful and one of the many unique creatures that reflect the creative handiwork of God. God has allowed me to be able to touch them and have them land on me for brief periods of time. However, I have never had more than a few seconds of time to connect with these little wonders. This weekend, God granted me an extra touch of His grace. I was standing on my porch and noticed a dragonfly on the railing. It was a beautiful bright red. I went to touch it and it flew away much to my disappointment. Then, it flew back and I rested my hand next to it. It began to take off but instead of flying away it came to rest on my hand for  what seemed like an unending period of time. I'm not sure how long it was there but we spent the time just being in each others company. I was able to observe its beauty as well as its fragility. And somehow it new that I would not bring it harm. Often times after one of these creature encounters, God will draw me to some Scripture. I was led to Matthew 3 and the baptism of Jesus. After Jesus was baptized, the Spirit rested on Him in the form of a dove. A voice from heaven declared, "This is my Son, whom I love; with Him I am well pleased." (Matthew 3:17) To me, this dragonfly represented God's Spirit resting on me. The red color reminded me of the red colors the church often uses at Pentecost and associates with the Spirit's coming. Although I heard no voices from heaven, I couldn't help but think of the Father smiling and declaring, "This is my daughter, whom I love; with her I am well pleased."As I had mentioned in my first posting, my great-grandmother was a women who was full of the Holy Spirit which often was manifested through her during her ministry. I feel this encounter was in some way a reminder to me that the Holy Spirit is the power  by which we are able to carry on the Lord's work. That same Holy Spirit that rested on my great-grandmother has rested on me and the dragonfly is symbolically the power of His Spirit affirming that His presence is with me. 
To God be the glory!
Pastor Sheree

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