Butterfly's.. in case you were wondering

In case you were wondering what's with the butterfly's on the title bar...

I thought I'd explain...

The following word was sent to me by a friend back in Oct 08 and has been a continued encouragement:

"I saw a picture of you cuddled up on the ground and then there was this shell/covering that formed on top of you. It was a protection.. Not intended to isolate you. And then I read Philippians 3:20-21 (NIV & Message). I believe it's referring to when we go to heaven but I think it can pertain to our renewing on earth. The words that he will make us "beautiful and whole" stuck out to me.

And I was reminded of a worm being incased in a cocoon to protect it while it makes a transformation into something beautiful. I think that's something the lord continues to do throughout our walk with him - constantly changing, renewing, refining us to make us beautiful. You are Beautiful! And you are Loved!"

And then I came across the following story:

A man found a cocoon for a butterfly. One day a small opening appeared, he sat and watched the butterfly for several hours as it struggled to force its body through the little hole. Then it seemed to stop making any progress. It appeared as if it had gotten as far as it could and could go no farther.

Then the man decided to help the butterfly. He took a pair of scissors and snipped the remaining bit of the cocoon. The butterfly then emerged easily. Something was strange. The butterfly had a swollen body and shriveled wings. The man continued to watch the butterfly because he expected at any moment, the wings would enlarge and expand to be able to support the body, which would contract in time.

Neither happened. In fact, the butterfly spent the rest of its life crawling around with a swollen body and deformed wings. It was never able to fly.

What the man in his kindness and haste did not understand, was that the restricting cocoon and the struggle required for the butterfly to get through the small opening of the cocoon are God`s way of forcing fluid from the body of the butterfly into its wings so that it would be ready for flight once it achieved its freedom from the cocoon.

Sometimes struggles are exactly what we need in our life. If God allowed us to go throughall our life without any obstacles, that would cripple us. We would not be as strong as what we could have been. Not only that, but we could never fly.

Then from a blog I stumbled upon:

"If I may make an analogy: the butterfly doesn’t want to come out of its cocoon. You’ve been in the world as a caterpillar, and you felt somewhat at peace with that. But you’re destined for bigger things, and you’re more beautiful and complex than anyone would judge by looking at you. The vibrant color would dazzle the eyes of many, and you’re terrified of showing it, because its different, and you want to be accepted, regardless of your feelings towards popularity on the whole.

I struggle with who I am. I struggle with what God’s doing in my life, because I can’t see what’s going on.I know truly that God is able to “do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine” (Eph. 3:20). Like get this butterfly out of her cocoon."

So... these 3 thoughts have been a constant reminder of this "Cocoon" phase that I'm in - physically, spiritually, and emotionally. The picture of the butterfly, to me, is a great reminder that there's more going on than what can be physically seen.... and that one day, I will emerge, "beautiful and whole."

“There is nothing in a caterpillar that tells you it’s going to be a butterfly.”- Richard Buckminster Fuller