A yellow and black butterfly glides through the air. It pauses once in a while to stop at one of the flowers it flies over. The day is bright and full of sunshine, and the butterfly lives happily. A closer look at the butterfly reveals that it is soft and light.

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On top of a hill on a country road, night is approaching. As the sun begins to set on a quiet and peaceful evening, the sky is painted with hues of blue, yellow, and orange. There is no wind and the world seems calm. From a person standing on that hill, they would most likely say that in the silence, peace has enveloped them in a tight hug.

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Both of these visuals remind me of Matthew 11:28-30 ~ “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” There is something about creation that draws us (at least me) closer to God. That “something” is the fact that He created everything. Of course it will draw us closer to Him! There is so much in this world that points to God…….are we willing to ponder that?

This is a new question that came to me in this very moment, but it connects with something God has put on my heart recently: My main goal on this mission is to, with God’s help, leave my expectations behind and be completely open to where God is working and how I can join Him, and what He wants to show me/teach me. A devotional I read recently was talking about how in order to see where God is working, we must be in a relationship with Him, and He must be willing to show us. In addition to those things, I think we must be willing to see. We must be willing to see so that we can say yes to whatever He is offering. However, we will not know what He is offering unless He shows us and we are in a relationship with Him. But when He offers something, what is the response?

As I have been at home the last couple of weeks getting ready for this mission, I have had a lot of “down time”. Things have been a lot slower and God has been refreshing my soul. There have been many moments of silence, stillness, and peace. Matthew 11:28-30 is something I forget often; I think it is something we all forget often. Life can be so busy and so go, go, go, but Jesus also wants us to rest. In fact, he created the Sabbath just for that. I also think there little moments to rest throughout every day. These moments might not be long, but they can remind us of our Creator and allow us to be refreshed by Him. It might be watching a butterfly glide from flower to flower, or sitting in the stillness of a blue and orange sunset——whatever it is, are we willing to ponder what He has to show us?