Today I stopped by my little neighborhood market and while waiting in line outside I noticed a struggling dragonfly inside the store window. He somehow got himself wedged inside the promo sign taped up on the window. He was really big and pretty. I’ve never actually seen a dragonfly so up close before. I told the employee at the front and assumed he might have the same instinct as me-(rescue immediately) but he just casually said “Yeah he’s been in there since this morning”.

And…no one cares? Just gonna let him struggle and die? Not on my watch son. 

He helped me move the display racks aside as I got on the ground with a small basket and magazine (impromptu dragonfly rescue gear). I had to be really careful not to damage the delicate wings in the process while being mindful not to let him fly off into the store. At one point I had a small “crowd” join in cheering me on from the other side. “He’s almost there! So close!” My adrenaline was pumping.

The rescue dragonfly mission ultimately came to a satisfying conclusion when I got him safely in the basket and out the front door. He sat on the ground for a minute to get his bearings then flew back into the abyss to enjoy the rest of his life.

As someone very much connected to the insect and animal world, I always search for meaning with these kinds of encounters.  They seem to reflect something important I need to pay attention to. After a rough night last night and a come to Jesus moment this morning, what occurs to me is just like this little dragonfly I’ve been feeling stuck too.

I’ve been buzzing, struggling, and flapping my wings to no avail, and exhausting myself in the process. Just like the dragonfly, I haven’t been getting anywhere with what I already knew, because my solution is going to come from an entirely different paradigm. Just like this dragonfly, we all need a little divine intervention sometimes. 

I looked up the spiritual meaning of dragonfly and got this:

Ya don’t say.

The moral as I see it is this: Stay open to unexpected solutions coming in unexpected ways. Ask for help. Trust that your prayers are heard and the answers are coming. No matter how bleak it may seem, don’t lose hope. Things can turn around just like that. You don’t have to figure it all out by yourself. Miracles happen. We are never alone.