From Mundane to Extraordinary

Have you ever seen a butterfly? Ever marveled at it's beauty? Have you considered where a butterfly came from originally?

It came from a caterpillar. Then it wrapped itself up into a cocoon. Then it broke out of it's "shell" and unraveled it's wings, revealing a beautiful butterfly.

The caterpillar itself really isn't all that beautiful. (Mind you, some of them are pretty artsy, like the one pictured above, but not all of them are).

Here is a quick synopsis of how it works: (you'll understand why I'm telling you all this in a minute).

The adult butterfly lays several eggs which hatch in about 5-7 days. The baby caterpillars eat like crazy during the next few weeks. During this time, because they're growing so quickly, they shed their skin several times. Then their body starts changing. Some even begin to show signs of the butterfly they will become, on their bodies.  They will then find a branch to hang their bodies upside down from, attach themselves and begin becoming what they call a Chrysalis. Once it is fully formed, it will shake around and rid itself of the last piece of skin from the caterpillar. It will be still for a while after that. While inside the chrysalis, major things are going on! The caterpillar's body is being  disassembled and reconstructed into the adult butterfly! The butterfly, once fully formed, will release a hormone that softens the shell  and the butterfly will push it's way out. Even then, the butterfly's wings are crumbled and have no fluid in them. They will sit for several hours while their wings are filled with fluid and then they will be ready to fly.

It's the same with us. We often start out as ugly little creatures, able to just inch along the ground, eating and eating, gaining knowledge and wisdom. Then we get even uglier while we just sit there waiting for God to transform our lives. Then we're born...yet often we're not ready to fly. We gain more knowledge and life giving breaths are breathed into our lungs. Then we're able to fly! We're able to go soooo many more places than we could have ever dreamed or imagined when we were just a caterpillar. Now we have wings! We can reach so many more people.

But there is a time and place for each process. We need to be thankful for the time God has us in right now. While it may not be where we want to be, it's preparing us for what is ahead. God has plans for us, but we need to trust His process. His ways are higher than our ways and His thoughts higher than our thoughts. He knows exactly what we need and when. It's our duty to just trust Him, follow His lead and allow Him to transform our lives when He sees fit. Don't rush into something, just because you know God has laid something on your heart. Sometimes preparation needs to take place. Sometimes training needs to happen. And sometimes, we just need to sit a while while He completely tears us down and rebuilds us, because that is the only way we will become beautiful, able to be used by Him.