While we were at the butterfly pavilion, I took some time to talk to Bob.  Bob had worked  over the years and was now a volunteer in the pavilion.  He was very knowledgable about butterflies and spiked my interest with his information.  He was specifically knowledgable about Monach butterflies.  Below is a picture I took of one of them flying in the pavilion.

They can only fly about 10-12 miles per hour but make a 1200 mile flight from North America to Mexico every year between September and October and back again.  Once I started calculating the average time a butterfly lives (2 weeks), the numbers didn’t add up.

What he said was that when they start their four stage transformation around March and April.  The four stages consist of eggs that hatch into caterpillars.  The caterpillars form  a chrysalis or a cocoon that then metamorphosis into a butterfly.  What they do before they die is lay eggs for their next generation to hatch and turn from a caterpillar to a butterfly.  The butterflies of the first three generations only live between 2-6 weeks and then lay their eggs and die.  The fourth generation butterfly is different.  This Monarch begins to fly south for the winter and has been known to fly up to 1200 miles before it lays it’s eggs and dies.  When it’s time to return from where their ancestors came from, off they go and the cycle begins again with each generation determined to make their path closer and closer to the final destination.

This information cost me nothing, but I gained an immense appreciation for the monarch butterfly that is determined to fulfill it’s goal and destiny.  We all have a mark from God as to what our gifts and abilities are in this world.  Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we like the Monarch knew what that destiny was and put our energy in fulfilling the plan that God had for us.  Part of that plan comes in the pages of the bible, old and new testaments.  I have spent a good portion of my life reading it from cover to cover and am learning what He wants me to do and be.

On this journey, we all have the opportunity to find out what His plan is for each of us.  That plan is different, based on our uniquenesses and personalities, but if we seek for and search for that plan with all of our heart, we will find it.