1 Corinthians 15:51 (NRSV)

The count of people infected with COVID-19 (coronavirus) goes up daily. Collier County has experienced three deaths from the disease. Congress passed, and the president signed, a $2+ Trillion stimulus package in an attempt to keep our economy from free-falling. I have literally begun making lists of restaurants where I cannot wait to sit and eat again. I sometimes think that I can physically feel the tension and strain in the air like a humidity change before a storm.

These are not fun times in which to be living. I try to remain positive, but I’ll be honest, some days I’m better at it than others, because some days are easier than others. I try to re-frame that I am not “stuck at home,” I am “safe at home.” But I’d rather be doing so many other things than worrying about things that I cannot control.

But there are these butterflies. You see, I have two plants just past my lanai that someone once told me are called “butterfly plants” because they attract butterflies as they migrate through Southwest Florida. I can see these plants while sitting on my lanai, but I can also see them from my kitchen, den, and bedroom. And this time of year, they are filled with butterflies.

You know, the butterfly is a sign of Easter and resurrection. Think about how a caterpillar must believe that life is over deep inside the cocoon. Then it bursts forth into new life as a beautiful butterfly. That is the story of Easter, and I believe that will be our story in this pandemic. Just when we aren’t sure that life will go on, we, too, will burst forth into new life.

So I will continue to socially distance to keep myself and others safe. But I will also keep my eye on those butterflies and open my heart to how God is showing new life all around me.

Rev. Dr. Dawson B. Taylor
Senior Minister

In thanksgiving for our mail carriers who continue to help us function as a nation:

“Loving God, help me to see the power of resurrection at work around me, even when I am uncertain. Amen.”