That Pesky Fly...

I am sitting here at my kitchen counter, enjoying the delightful taste of Starbucks new Via iced coffee....mmmmm....caramel machiatto...smooth, refreshing, tasty! 

Bzzzz....swat!
Bzzzz...swat!

That pesky fly!!!  This thing is the biggest fly I have ever seen! It almost sounds like a bee buzzing around the kitchen. I can't stand it! 

Seriously...why did God create flies????

I started thinking about my best friend from my time at Iowa State. We just had lunch together. I so enjoy that time with her. We share what's going on in our lives, laugh about our children, and pray with each other. She is a woman of courage. A woman of faith. A woman of conviction and insight and love.

And - I venture to say she won't mind me saying this - well, I pray that she won't mind - but she was also a fly at one time!

When we first met years ago, we were sharing a dimly lit room in the basement of a building in central campus. She had one child. I had three. She was going to become a therapist. I wanted to be a college professor. She drank alcohol and swore. I was helping plant a church.

I hated going to my office! To me, at the time, she was a fly...pesky and bothersome...when all I wanted to do was get work done, get my Ph.D. and get on with life...she was there...in the room...buzzing around...bothering my plans!

But you see...God taught me something...He taught me that everything...everyone....He creates has a purpose!  He taught me that it wasn't about my plans but rather about His plans! Slowly I saw the inside of my co-worker. She shared her heart. I shared my story. She shared her sorrow. I shared scripture. She shared her life. I became a part of it! 

Did you know that flies have a purpose? There are thousands of different kinds of flies in the world. Some help spread pollen from flower to flower. Some flies help dead things rot away. Others enrich the soil. Flies have a purpose. They do more than buzz around the kitchen! There is more to them than what I see on the outside!

So you see, that fly in your life...the one buzzing around your head as you simply try to enjoy your latte...

well, God has a purpose for it - for him - for her - Step up sister and find the purpose!

"The earth is the Lord's and everything in it, the world and all who live in it; for He founded it upon the seas and established it upon the waters."

Psalm 24:1-2