Butterflies...

They are my favorite of God's creations. Beautiful and graceful, they are delicate yet some migrate

thousands of miles. They are a symbol of transformation spiritually as well as psychologically. But

that's not what fuels my fascination with butterflies.

It started in junior high. Maybe it was because I was in an awkward stage that felt like I didn't fit in

anywhere. Maybe it was feeling like my life was so much more difficult than my friends lives.

Whatever it was, I heard a story that forever burned in my mind.

A man was looking out his window and he saw a butterfly struggling to get out of its chrysalis. He

watched it struggle for a few minutes then decided to help it along. Pulling out his pocket knife, he

gently cut the chrysalis, freeing the fragile captive. A plump-bodied, shriveled-winged creature

emerged. He waited for the butterfly to unfold it's wings and fly away but it didn't. Its wings

remained crinkled. The body remained swollen with fluid. Eventually, the crippled butterfly fell from

it's perch and perished.

What the man did not realize was that butterflies need that struggle to become the beautiful

creatures that float along on a breeze. Butterfly wings have a network of tiny tubes that, when filled

with fluid, give them their strength and delicate beauty. Wrestling their way out of that chrysalis

forces the fluid out of their fat, caterpillar bodies into their wings.

That lesson stuck with me. The struggles that I experienced took on meaning. They were

strengthening me, transforming me. The easy way out can have disastrous consequences. If you are

in the midst of a chrysalis-experience and would like encouragement as you struggle your way into

the butterfly you are destined to be, reach out. You are not alone.