A message from Rev. David
Just now, before sitting down to write this, as I was walking from my car to the front door, a yellow butterfly flew so close to me that I could have reached out and touched it. I stood very still, hoping it would land on me—if only for a second. Instead, it flew over and around me. It was, indeed, a beautiful and rare sight in my own front yard.
I decided that this miraculous winged creature was a divine messenger. In fact, I have no doubt of it! In various cultures and spiritual traditions, butterflies represent transformation, renewal or rebirth, freedom, lightness, change, and opportunity.
When I consider the metamorphic process a caterpillar undergoes—to spin a chrysalis, release the only form it has known, and eventually emerge as something entirely new and glorious—I am in awe of the creativity and evolutionary power of God, by whatever name or nature we know it to be.
I am also reminded that, just as the caterpillar has a divine impulse to transform into a butterfly—becoming that which it was created to be—you and I have a Divine Urge implanted in us from the beginning of time to know and express our True Nature. To do so, we must be willing to consciously awaken to the impulse, free ourselves from the limited images we have accepted, step out of the comfort of what we have known, and emerge as the Light of the World, as our elder brother, Jesus of Nazareth, taught us we are.
My butterfly messenger this morning was a present reminder of where I find myself today. I feel as though I am experiencing a renewal—a rebirth of sorts. I am certainly in a space of change and opportunity, to say the least. I have listened to the call to full-time ministry—a Divine Urge I have felt since I was a teenager. I am ready to release how I have known myself as an insurance broker and part-time minister, step out of what has become my comfort zone, and emerge into the role of senior minister at Unity Church of the Hills. I believe I have been called to UCoH, and I trust that UCoH has been calling me as well.
The butterfly also stirred the amazement and delight I feel each time I remember: this is really happening. I am grateful beyond words to the search team, the Board, the staff, and to each and every person who contributed to the unfolding of this process. I felt the energy and excitement when I was with you in April, and I feel it even now—radiating from you and through me.
I am ebullient—a word I recently learned, by the way, but I can think of no better one—as I consider the potential and possibility that is ready to be realized by us, both individually and collectively.
Even though it will be a few months before I officially join you, please know that you are already in my heart and in my prayers.
I see us soaring to new heights as: “We put God first, live Unity principles, and empower each other to transform our lives.”
Abundant blessings,
Rev. David
