“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” (2 Corinthians 5:17, KJV)
It is often that our deepest despair brings forth the most genuine cries of our heart. Perhaps, the painful descent has been so gradual that at first we are surprised to find ourselves in a miry pit without answers and without hope. Fortunately, our heavenly Father readily receives our raw, honest prayers. In Isaiah 65:24 (NASB), listen to what the Lord Himself tells us: “It will also come to pass that before they call, I will answer; and while they are still speaking, I will hear.”
Rhonda Stephens
With a heart for God, Rhonda Stephens cannot remember a time that creative pursuits were not a part of her life. She longed for the opportunity to use her God-given talents in a profession. In the mid-nineties, as a wife and mother of a young daughter, Rhonda found herself in the desperate and lonely place of diminished hope. On the outside, she appeared to be happily going about her busy life caring for her family, involved in her church, and successful at her job as a mail carrier for the U. S. Post Office. Inside, however, a private struggle raged over unfulfilled dreams and dormant talents.
It had not yet occurred to her that God could help her find His will for her life. “I never hesitated to go to God for important things like the care and wellbeing of my family and friends, but when it came to my job, I did not want to bother Him with something that I thought was up to me,” Rhonda said.
She recalled a turning point that came out of complete desperation, and led to a simple, humble prayer. “I gave my sense of longing to God, and asked for His help in finding a new, creative work for my hands.” The peace that had eluded her for so long settled into her spirit, and His gentle answer would soon come to her on the wings of a butterfly.
I first met with Rhonda to talk about her story at her greenhouse. A wood frame structure enclosed with screen, the greenhouse is home to milkweed, red penta, golden dew drop, and other host and nectar plants. As we approached the wooden screened door, I saw the shapes of many flowering plants, but when we stepped inside, I was taken completely by surprise. Hundreds and hundreds of butterflies filled the air. It was a whimsical world far removed from everything outside of its door.
Rhonda reached out and gently cupped her hand around an elegant monarch. Holding her palm out as the butterfly fluttered its wings, she turned to me and said, “I stepped out in faith to start this business.” Rhonda is the proprietor of Metamorphosis Butterfly Farm, which is in its twelfth year as a supplier of pupae and butterflies to museums, zoos, and other enclosed exhibits around the United States.
Rhonda shared with me that the journey to her unique and satisfying profession began the very day she invited God into this area of her life. Filled with a lighter heart and a renewed gratitude for her job with the post office, Rhonda recalled being more aware and receptive of the things going on around her. The year was 1996, and it unfolded like a road map with a series of events pointing her on her way.
“I was invited to attend a meeting of the Plant City Garden Club, and host plants for butterflies was the topic,” she said. Intrigued, she bought a plant and raised her first caterpillar. She explained that it shed its old skin to reveal a protective covering known as the chrysalis. When pupation was complete, it broke out of the chrysalis and spread its new wings. “The beautiful creature that emerged in no way resembled the caterpillar that produced it,” she said with amazement. “I thought everyone has to see this!”
Rhonda bought more plants and raised more caterpillars. She then came across two articles featuring butterfly related businesses. “I just kept stumbling across information about butterflies, and a small hope began to build inside of me that maybe this creative interest could be more than a hobby,” she said. “At this point, things were still not yet clear, but I knew that God was asking me to think.”
In the summer of 1997, further research revealed a seminar on the butterfly industry, which was to be held in Pennsylvania. Rhonda’s husband Clint, who has always been supportive of her dreams, saw it as an opportunity to plan a family vacation. So they headed North to explore a new state, only for Rhonda to meet a fellow Floridian at the seminar. “A farmer from Gainesville, who raises butterflies for enclosed exhibits, told me that he had more orders than he could fill,” she said. “Before the end of the seminar, he agreed to buy all the butterflies that I could raise!” Upon returning home she gently packed the caterpillars, which were in the chrysalis stage, in soft layers of tissue paper and shipped them overnight to Gainesville. With this, her business was born.
“I guess I thought that God was newly aware of my situation,” she said with a laugh. “But as I grew in the knowledge of raising butterflies, I realized that God had been preparing me for this work for most of my life.” Rhonda was also reminded that God’s timing is perfect. “A new phase in the industry known as butterfly release was gaining popularity just as I was starting my business,” she explained. “Orders came my way for butterflies to be released at weddings and other special events.”
By 1999, she had more business than she could handle in addition to delivering mail. After much prayer, she made the decision to retire from the post office. “It was a good job and I worked with many wonderful people,” she said. “But, I knew I was doing the right thing.” Filled with a sense of peace and purpose, Rhonda was ready to take her butterfly business to the next level. Today, her many clients include the enclosed butterfly garden at Wild Seed Farms in Texas, the Sweetbriar Nature Center’s Butterfly Vivarium in New York, and the Minnesota Zoo.
On any given day Rhonda is up with the sun to begin countless chores and, just like any farmer, she deals with both good and bad returns for her efforts. She celebrated 2009 as her most productive year only to lose all of her plants in the hard winter freezes of early 2010. Reflecting on this contrast she replied, “Whether we are on the mountaintop or in the valley, I am convinced that God is most concerned with how we react.” Also, competition between butterfly providers can be intense, but she quickly pointed out that honoring God in her working relationships and in her business dealings is her top priority. “It’s not all about money,” she said.
Rhonda’s trust in God and irrepressible hope is an inspiration to her family, friends, and fellow farmers. Her daughter Shannon, who received her law degree from Stetson University College of Law, acknowledges her mother’s powerful influence. She shared, “Just this past year, I found myself in a difficult working environment, and I know that it was Mom’s example of faith that led me to seek God’s will, and then to trust that He was at work in my own life.”
God’s creations are all magnificent, but the butterfly is the result of a transformation different from that of many creatures on this planet. Rhonda’s unique journey to a place of renewed hope and peace is also the result of what she calls a transformation of her own. Forever grateful, when Rhonda Stephens’ creative hands are not busy in the soil of the earth or cradling a monarch butterfly, she is quick to raise them in praise to her heavenly Father for His goodness. Rhonda said, “If we do not have it, it may be because we did not ask for it.”
