A WALK TO THE CHAPEL

May 30, 2017

Lately, as I walk to our chapel here in Hanoi, I see beautiful blossoming trees that line the streets. They are a delight to the eyes. It is spring and the trees are in full bloom. Huge blossoms; small blossoms; layers of them in purple, pink, red and yellow. The trees all drop their blossoms on the sidewalks so you see the colors, both above and beneath. It is magical. Some young girls even wear them in their hair as they anticipate the end of school. As we look from our balcony on the 17^th floor, we see the splashes of color in the landscape.

I have a blossoming pink paper leaf tree on my balcony that I tenderly water each day. All of the blossoms add to the enchantment of the country. I have been told that the abundant blossoms are an indication of the hot summer to come. However, with that comes the wonderful thought of a prolific harvest season too. I love spring time here in Hanoi; and I love the work that I am doing to help build up God's Kingdom, here in Vietnam. It is enjoyable going with the missionaries to their discussions and feeling the Spirit in the meetings; it is a testimony to me that this is the Lord’s sacred work.

Spring is also a time for butterflies and there are so many of them in Vietnam. This is the perfect time to see them lightly dancing from flower to flower. Their magical presence brightens my day. We visited the botanical gardens recently, and saw many butterflies and blooms. I was amazed to find out that there are about 440 species of butterflies in Vietnam: White Dragon Tails; Red Lacewings; and the most magnificent, The Jungle Queen, a huge butterfly that is mainly black with vibrant stripes of emerald green. I love seeing these delicate creatures. Trying to capture them in a picture on my phone, is nearly impossible because they are too quick.

Spring and the magnificent life of a butterfly, closely mirrors our process of making our way back to our Heavenly Father. It reminds us that we each have the possibility to be spiritually born in Christ, by taking the opportunity to be introspective and make the needed changes in our lives. Like the cocoon of the butterfly; if we surround ourself in the scriptures, pray often, and ponder upon what and how we need to grow in the Gospel, we will find ourselves closer to Christ. These acts awaken us to who we really are: children of our Heavenly Father. He loves us and wants for our success, in this mortal journey. On pondering this metaphor, a thought I had is that butterflies don’t live very long. Their life span is anywhere from one day, to a few weeks. Life is short, and from an eternal perspective, it is even shorter. We need to use every day we are given to develop Christ-like attributes. There is much to do to make our way back to the presence of our Heavenly Father. I am so glad that he cares so much about us and has given us a beautiful world filled with hope.