The Butterfly Effect

“Have you ever heard of the Butterfly Effect?”, I asked my son a few nights ago. He said something like, “Yeah, it’s when the butterflies movement can eventually start a hurricane on the other side of the world.” Yes, I replied as if amazed that he knew about this. “You don’t know that Mama? he said.” No, I don’t think I’ve ever heard of it and it has me shook right now!”

How about you? Ever heard of the Butterfly Effect? Have you ever thought about how far down the line your actions effect others? I haven’t…not to that degree anyway.

This new fascination began when I saw a clip by Andy Andrews who has written a book on this interesting topic. Take a few moments and listen as he explains it.

“A butterfly could flap its wings and set molecules of air in motion, which would move other molecules of air, in turn moving more molecules of air – eventually capable of starting a hurricane on the other side of the planet.” Did you hear him say that? I mean,  just think of that small, little, beautiful, butterfly just doing its thing, living its life, flapping its wings, nurturing itself and in the process of all that...the movement can eventually have a ripple effect that can be felt across the world.

“Every single thing you do matters.” Andy Andrews said. Again, mind blown! Because this visual I have goes beyond who I see around me today. Over the last few days I have continued to think about this, and then another thought came to mind. “Hmm...how loud is that butterfly when it spreads it wings and flies? And I thought, “It’s not loud at all....it makes no noise.” So all this flapping that makes such an impact starts out so quietly. Unnoticed. And that’s where I want to encourage you today.  We flap our wings and we do all the things....and we are working hard...and we are purposeful in what we do. But how many times does it go unnoticed? We aren’t heard because its a silent thing. A silent serving thing we are doing before the Lord because God wants us to and it generally goes unnoticed. But guess what, I’m here to say that it is impactful and it is making a difference! It is making a difference in places we cannot see....people we may not know. So keep flapping your wings and serving, loving, praying, giving....all the things, because as Andy Andrews says,

“Your life and what you do with it today matters forever.”

I just love that!