Hello my friends!
It’s been a long time— and I hate that. But “life” really got in the way of my personal goals this year. That seems to happen to me a lot— but this time, I found myself neck-deep in a commitment that literally sucked the life from me and there was simply nothing left to offer anyone or anything else. The BuiltToBeAButterfly site was one of MANY casualties. In fact, I came very close to not renewing the website last December. If it had not been for the selfless contribution of a dear friend, the BuiltToBeAButterfly site would have died. (Thank you, Gloria, for being faithful to what our Creator placed on your heart!)
Part of me feels this excruciatingly painful “need” to apologize to you guys for my “failure to produce”. But— the part of me that has been wrung through the wringer this year has finally had enough of my self-condemnation! THAT part of me has stood up, stomped her feet and declared, “It’s a FREE website! There’s no access fee. You offer what you can, free of charge, as you are able! People can’t get angry that you’re not dishing out enough free content!” (Oh, but they CAN— as some of the emails I’ve received prove. But that’s another story! haha!)
Let me just stop here and say— It’s been a tough year. Thank you for giving me Grace and sticking around. Now without further rambling, let me get on with today’s feature! It’s a radically different spin on an age-old bible story. Perhaps it will make ya’ think a bit. It certainly did me!
I’m going to title this one: Elijah and the Ravens
As some of you know, I spent a lot of time working in Wyoming this past year. The week before I headed back home, I finally got to visit Yellowstone National Park. It was only a quick day trip and with so much awe inspiring beauty hitting me at once, there’s probably a lot that I missed. But what I didn’t miss were the RAVENS.
As we drove through the park on the way to Old Faithful Inn, we were caught in construction traffic. Normally, that kind of thing just drives me batty! But this time, something unusual caught my eye. This enormous, shiny, blue-black bird, with an impressive black beak and piercing eyes landed on the road just feet from our car! Now I’ve seen blackbirds, and I’ve seen some pretty big crows in my day… but I had never seen any thing quite like this! This fella stood every bit of two feet tall and made it a point to strut back and forth next to the car, tilting his head and looking at me the whole time. I was mesmerized. So this was the bird who talked in Edger Allen Poe’s famous poem, huh? Hmmm….. This guy looked like he might have had a lot to say!
By the time we got to the Inn, I had forgotten about the bird. We hustled to see Old Faithful, which was expected to blow soon. Rushing down the path, I heard a strange noise. I looked up and there— high above me on the branch of a large fir tree— was… yes… another gigantic raven, peering down at me. I stopped in my tracks and made eye contact with him. He was a commanding sort of presence; hard to ignore— even when rushing to watch Old Faithful.
At the lodge, there was another, and as we made our way back to the car, there was a fourth! All were impressive; HUGE, shimmering, magnificent creatures, unlike anything I had seen before. We saw lots of beautiful sights that day, but nothing impressed me quite like those Ravens.
Fast forward another week. We are making the (very long) drive back home and those ravens kept coming to my mind. You guys aren’t going to believe what happened next. I mean—seriously— I barely do! I am literally in a daze, thinking back on the impressive stature of those birds when… I look up and see we are driving right past this giant statue of a bird. And not just any old bird—- a RAVEN!
I insisted my husband turn around. I had to get a better look! You can tell how tall it is by the flag pole behind it. I was absolutely fascinated. What kind of town erects a statue of a giant raven? The town of Ravenden, Arkansas, of course! It’s a tiny spot on the map with probably not more than 500 people.
Now, in modern days, Ravens have gotten a pretty bad rap. They are presented as dark, foreboding creatures, some times associated with witches and evil. But that wasn’t always the case— and the founding fathers of the town of Ravenden obviously understood that! They knew that ravens were intelligent creatures which were used to do a good deed in Scripture!
They didn’t just erect a huge statue of a raven, either. They added a large marble inscription at its base which quotes 1 Kings 17. 
That is the amazing story of where God used ravens to feed the prophet Elijah during a time in his life when he was exhausted and greatly discouraged.
Now friends, that really got me thinking! Yes, it’s fascinating to think that Yahweh Almighty used birds to feed someone during their time of need. But… Where did the meat and the bread come from? Think about that for a minute.
I love making homemade bread! But it’s work! Even now, when I can run to the corner grocery store and buy flour and yeast, it’s a day-long process! Think about how much more cumbersome it was to make bread some four thousand years ago! This is important— please hear me out. I want you to walk through this process with me! First, they had to clear the field, to plant the wheat. Imagine— you’re out in the baking hot sun, tilling the hard, rocky ground with the help of your old mule. Then, after months of waiting, you would have to cut the wheat by hand with one of those ancient scythes; and bundle it. Imagine what THAT would do to your manicure! You would have to thrash the stalks to separate the wheat from the shaft. All this, and you still don’t have flour yet! You must find a large, smooth river rock to pound the wheat berries into powder. Oh yes— let’s not forget that while your bread is rising, you have to go cut your own kenneling for the fire!
Are you starting to get the picture yet? Making bread during the time of Elijah was no simple task!! Can you imagine the pride a housewife of that era would feel when she finally pulled a loaf of golden brown bread from her clay oven? She would have to feel an overwhelming sense of accomplishment!
So— how do you think she would feel to look up at the window sill and see some giant raven make off with her loaf of bread? Ponder that!
Now here’s something else to add to the scenario— it wasn’t just ONE bird—it was ravens—PLURAL. And they didn’t just bring Elijah bread once!! 1 Kings 17:6 states that these birds brought bread and meat— twice a day! Yep!! The birds are out “collecting” goodies to sustain God’s prophet. And they did it morning and evening for what appears to be an extended period of time.
If you grew up attending a Christian church, you’ve probably heard this story many times. But I’ve never once heard a pastor ponder where those ravens got the bread. What did the poor, hard working mother feel like when she toiled so long and hard to provide for her family, only to have some bird make off with the fruits of her labor? I can’t help but feel sorry for this person. She would have had no way of knowing that these birds were using her efforts to feed a prophet of the Most High! All she knows is that her bread is gone and all of her hard work was for naught! She had to be soooo frustrated! Angry— maybe even at God! After all, why would He allow such a thing, knowing how hard she has worked?
So, what’s my point? Here’s where I’m going with all this: Some times God uses us— our money, our resources, our talents, our strengths, our hard work—-in ways that He doesn’t always make crystal clear. We may feel used up, taken advantage of, cast aside, or spent. We may spend a lot of energy whining and complaining about how a situation was unfair or pointless. But my friends— God NEVER allows a “pointless” situation to cross a believer’s path!
He doesn’t always give us the details of what He’s doing. He doesn’t always sit down and explain or ask our permission. But He truly does make all things work together in a way that brings blessing and benefit to His people.; even when we don’t fully understand His methods. You just never know. Maybe—like the bread bakers in Elijah’s day— He’s using you in a way that will alter eternity for someone and He just hasn’t revealed all the details to you yet! The thought has been helpful to me as I’ve walked through a challenging season and I pray that it encourages you as well.
Until Next Time,
