Butterflies

We delight in the beauty of the butterfly, but rarely admit the
changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty.
~Maya Angelou

The beauty of a butterfly (or flutterby as it was originally called in English) is unmistakable and breathtaking. All the colors of the rainbow and more are represented in these fragile, winged creatures. Their intensity of color brightens even the gloomiest of rain forests and deepest of valleys. Flitting hither and yon to find the next source of sweet nectar or a potential spot to lay their eggs, these graceful, fluttering rainbows delight us the world over and bring a smile to our faces and squeals to our lips while we watch them.

But they are not always so lovely. The first half of their life is spent as squishy, sometimes spiny, caterpillar that knows nothing but the gnawing in its stomach. They are destructive to plants and are a nuisance in the garden. People spend thousands of dollars to combat their activities. But once they reach that certain level, all eating and destruction stops and the transformation beings. Building a chrysalis, the satiated caterpillar enters inside and basically dies and becomes nothing but a mass of material that is then used to reform the creature into a beautiful insect. Once it is ready, it will break out of it's home with a mighty struggle. Without that struggle, it will not make it because the difficulty of leaving the chrysalis helps the fluid enter into the wing capillaries and helps the newly formed butterfly take its first flight.

This small part of creation is a lot like us. Before we are saved, we are a lot like a caterpillar--always hungry for more of the world, ugly, spiny, defensive. But once we accept Jesus as our Personal Savior, He molds us into a new creature and uses the difficulties and struggles of life to make us more like Him. Without those hard times, we would end up as useless as a new butterfly that was freed from its chrysalis by an outside source. God uses them to help us fly for His honor and glory.

The next time you see a butterfly, think of what it went through to become a beautiful flying insect.

And thank God that He is reforming you just like that butterfly. You will soon be one of His flying jewels.