Things that remind me....

Things that I experience in nature remind me that God is not always noticeable in every aspect of where I am or what I am doing or always in the same way. But I know that God is always there.  Every time I walk in the woods, I want to see something amazing and usually do (99.9% of the time), all I need to do is look around.  But butterflies don't appear on command!  I wish that they did! Today wasn't my usual grateful butterfly encounter since some odd feelings came unexpectedly again!  When I do see butterflies it is often a fleeting glimpse of color or movement from the corner of my eye that causes me to take notice.  But today and sometimes the call of a hawk draws your eyes upward and the dance begins as I twirled around and around watching it's flight.  I also have had a fascination with hawks and this morning was no exception, I heard it's cries.  My eyes focused on the very large flying bird above my head and at first my expectation were confused since the bird that I spotted was a buzzard!  But my eyes were carried even higher and the cries of the hawk rang clear as I watched it circle and circle above my head and soar at such great heights, far beyond the buzzard!  It carried a very powerful message!  Somewhere along the way, the hawk somehow became a strong meaningful symbol of God to me.  So, each encounter is special and  makes me feel like I have received a gift. 
I continued to focus on this hawks flight and screeching cries, my eyes watered as the morning light seeped through the tree tops, not yet covered in leaves.  The flutter and dance of two butterflies caught my attention and I immediately recognized the two companions busy in their courting as "Mourning Cloaks".  Now my second recognizable encounter with the species since March 17.  It immediately gave me a weird feeling of loss and sadness, a feeling that I could not understand.  One of the two butterflies came down and flew from the top of the trees directly across my path and about ten feet above my head. Then I lost sight of it.  It reminded me of how fleeting our time is here on earth.  It reminded me of my aging parents and in-laws and those that have already passed away.  And as we all do I had been recently upset over a tiff with our daughter.  I like peace and calm so any upheaval shatters my core.  Even the tiny things. Relationships! 
 So, butterflies move me too! I pondered on this sighting and why I felt so moved.  As I exited the connecting trail back to the main fire trail I followed our dog and she had forgotten that we had driven out deeper in the woods and parked our car at the head of the fire trail.  We had not walked from our home this day but she started back toward home.   I was so shaken that I too began to exit toward home.  But we had a ways to go in the opposite direction! I quickly recovered and said, "come on girl we need to go back this way and get the car!"  As we topped the small incline a flash of bright reddish-orange darted passed my right side.  It was another butterfly!  It was a butterfly called a "Question Mark"!  Oh my!  My weird feelings turned to a feeling of concern. I knew that our daughter and her precious little family were traveling this day and I felt the need for immediate intercessory prayer.  I was still in the mist of my 40 day Lenton journey so possibly I was reading more into my feelings and emotions but I truly felt that the Holy Spirit was intervening.  So I prayed for their safety.  Short of heaven I may never know the answer to that question or feeling. They returned home safe and sound thankfully!
 Maybe it was the buzzard and the name of those butterflies the "Mourning Cloak" and then I looked up the name of the orange butterfly..."Question Mark"! They are also butterflies that hibernate.  And when their wings are closed the appear as a dead leaf. A picture of a Question Mark at this link: http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a5/Question_Mark_Polygonia_interrogationis_Wings_3008px.jpg&imgrefurl=http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Question_Mark_Polygonia_interrogationis_Wings_3008px.jpg&h=2000&w=3008&sz=2360&tbnid=lqdatLDiTkYztM:&tbnh=96&tbnw=145&zoom=1&usg=__qgGHycL760_xloahE7YAIeDGjwY=&docid=AFwiDAtXvdCV1M&sa=X&ei=AtvDUYq3N4ic9QTzmYGAAQ&ved=0CEQQ9QEwBg&dur=5841.  I wasn't fast enough to get a clear photo of it's wings open. 
The stirrings of the heart make their invisible presence known.  These moments stick with me and are a reminder of the essence and presence of the Divine.  So, I ask God of all creation to please keep me acutely aware each day of his presence in all things.

For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities~his eternal power and divine nature~have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made....Romans 1:20 (NIV)




You can barely see this Mourning Cloak  butterfly because they were so high in the tree tops.  I'm amazed that I saw them.   



Carly stayed busy looking for water critters while I photographed butterflies and such!

I circled the butterfly to show you where it is!  See how it looks like a dead leaf but when opened up it is magnificent and orange!  Amazing how camouflaged it can become.