“Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee.”
The famous quote from Muhammad Ali was often used in my home as I was growing up. It was the 70‘s and his career was at an all-time high. It was a call to be proactively light on your feet – float like a butterfly – when facing your opponent, and to be quick to act – sting like a bee – when you see opportunity arise. These days, that old voice echoes in my head as I navigate the bob-and-weave dance with my opponent named, “Change.” Perhaps you’ve heard of him?
Float like a butterfly:
- Yes, as Assistants, we do need to be well thought out and prepared, but we can’t become glued to that one way of getting something accomplished. Floating like a butterfly keeps us flexible with those plans. Be the bug not the windshield.
Sting like a bee:
- Clear communication with the Lord helps us respond quickly when we see opportunity. Talk with Him along the way – out loud, if it helps – and ask Him to help you see His provision. Remember that this is HIS work that HE has invited us into so HE will show us the open door. If we approach our work with an open hand instead of a clenched fist, we are much more likely to recognize those moments and respond with precision.
Let’s be honest, there are days when we spend a lot of our time changing direction. Ducking. Dodging. Pivoting. Call it what you want, but we simply must learn the balance of well thought out preparation and the need to adapt when the winds of change come blowing through. Ah, but how do we avoid the pitfall of frustration that can quickly follow those winds?
I am not saying this because I am in need,
for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.
I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty.
I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation,
whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.
I can do all this through him who gives me strength.
Philippians 4:11-13
I have frequently read this verse when I have been in physical need, and it certainly addresses that. However, the Lord has also highlighted it to me when I haven’t been floating like a butterfly very well. It is God who gives us daily strength for whatever He allows us to encounter. First, it passes through His hands and then He entrusts it to us with the strength He gives us. It is my decision to be content (to the best of my ability covered with His grace), not frustrated, in every situation. Even the unexpected ones.
If you’ve had a hard time lately floating like a butterfly or stinging like a bee, let me encourage you. Our God is not disappointed by our human responses to our situations. He isn’t deterred by our frustration or finished with us because of our tantrums. He has a loving smile on His face as He picks us up, dusts us off, and gives us another opportunity. He is a loving Daddy who cheers us on and shows us grace after grace. He wants us to know that we are His beloved children and…
You are adored.
You Are Adored 