Day 2 was another day filled with the peace of God. I spent the early morning worshipping in my hotel room, which by this point had become my own private sanctuary. I listened to a few worship songs from my YouTube playlist, and it was the perfect time to just be free with the Lord. After an awesome time in God’s presence, I headed off to Butterfly World in Coconut Creek, Florida. Before I finish discussing my day, I want to give a quick shoutout to Lester’s Diner! I had an amazing, down home breakfast that really hit the spot. It reminded me of being back home with my mother…real butter, real eggs, and really good pancakes! The place was also clean, and the waitstaff was phenomenal! Thanks for a memorable experience…now back to Butterfly World.
I am sure it is obvious that Butterfly World is one of my most favorite places in the world. 😊 Don’t worry…I don’t worship butterflies, and they are not in any way idols for me; I don’t even have a butterfly collection! I just love to watch these gorgeous creatures. I am amazed by their vibrant colors, and the fluttering of their wings make them seem so happy all the time. I can be in a bad mood, see a butterfly whipping through the air, and a smile will immediately come to my face.
I have lived in the northern United States all my life, so the Monarch butterfly is the one that I am most familiar with. Butterfly World has exotic butterflies, though, and I was surprised that some of them were quite big in size! I never knew they could grow to be so large; in fact, I was a bit startled when a couple of the bigger butterflies flew past me. Yeah, maybe I need to study butterflies one day…LOL.
As I walked through the museum, I tried to hide the tears as I thought about my mother and how much I miss her. Had she been alive, she would have given her right arm to help me survive the divorce with as less pain as possible. Watching all the happy butterflies brought back cherished memories of my dear mother.
Halfway through the museum, I stumbled upon a park-like bench in tribute to a person by the name of Todd Jayson Cohen. The inscription on the bench read:
Love is like a butterfly: It goes wherever it pleases and pleases wherever it goes.
For me, that was one of the most beautiful characterizations of love that I have ever read. I spent the rest of my time thinking about love, what it means, the many facets of love, and ways in which it reveals itself. I thought about romantic love, the love of God, the love of ice cream, parental love, self-love, and even Agape love. I know that love also has more formal definitions, but I just thought about love. I also wondered how could love ever turn into hate?
The contrast between love and hate is so stark until sometimes I wonder if love could actually turn into anything except love and love again?? In relationships, we sometimes witness situations whereby a couple is seemingly happy, on the right path, and everything is beautiful. Suddenly, something happens and intense hate appears. It makes me wonder…does love actually TURN to hate? I don’t think that love can turn to hate; instead, I believe that hate can sometimes overshadow love.
I spent the rest of the day on Pompano Beach again taking in the waves, releasing some of the negative feelings from my past, and allowing the Holy Spirit to just take over and lead me to a loving place. I kept thinking about 1 Corinthians 13:13: Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love. I am still contemplating this verse and thankful that love will always be the greatest power that we will ever experience on this earth.
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