When I was very young, I wanted to give my mother something special, so I pulled flowers from the neighbors’ garden and took them to her.  You know what they looked like–stems damaged by little hands and dirt still clinging to the roots.  The blossoms were barely salvageable.  That day a certain realization came to me.  After the neighbor came and told my mother where those gifts had originated and my mother spanked me for trespassing and stealing, I had a different view of the beauty of pulled and cut flowers.

Now they remind me of the many science experiments and projects we used to have to do in high school.  We were to catch a certain number of butterflies or so many moths and their caterpillar counterparts, put pins in their heads and bring the collection to school for a grade.

How are cut flowers and mounted butterflies alike? They are dead–no longer able to be viewed by everyone who passes by and no longer doing the job our Creator gave them to do.  Flowers and other growing things provide food for the bees and butterflies, while the butterflies and bees help to pollinate the flowers.