Complaining In The Cocoon

I’ll guess our cocoon experience seems longer than that of a butterfly, but, proportionately, maybe it’s not.

Though some may find caterpillars fascinating little creatures, few would say their beauty and abilities even rival that of the butterfly. I’ll admit, I don’t have a clue what goes on in that cocoon to cause the transformation from caterpillar to butterfly. But, when life courses through the veins of their newfound wings, beauty and power take on brand new meaning.

I have no idea if the butterfly remembers life as the caterpillar, crawling on her belly in search of food, eating as if the buffet will soon be over.

I don’t know if the caterpillar knows that she’ll be hidden away in a cocoon, changing phenomenally, or if she has any appreciation for the freedoms of the butterfly. Or for that matter, if she’s ever even seen a butterfly. Perhaps her eyes are only on the task at hand, acquiring the fuel she’s driven to take in.

Does she know transformation awaits her?

Can she imagine how much of a change will occur?

Is it dark in there? Can she see at all?

Can she move in that cocoon? (Seems quite cramped to me.)

As she grows and develops, is she at all comfortable, or stressed beyond recognition?

Or – does she sleep?

Does she question what’s happening to her?

Does it hurt?

Does she know she has a future, or does she await death?

When the urge to break out overcomes her, is she afraid?

Never having had wings before, what does she think is crowding her into the cocoon?

What does she think has happened to her slimy (or furry) little body, the one she wore into the cocoon?

As her wings stretch out to their full measure, does it hurt? Does it feel good, like stretching our arms and our back after a long night of sleep?

Is she afraid of the foreign objects we know are her wings? Of their need to soar through the air?

Does she even think about what’s happening or just enjoy the newness?

The experience of the butterflies vary, some never make it out of the cocoon.

Though her story is one of rebirth and transformation, one that we can see with our eyes over a very brief period of time, does she realize it?

Ours is an ongoing story of change and rebirth, too.

What stage are you in right now?

I have no clue if the caterpillar, all wrapped up in it’s transformational habitat, can complain. I rather doubt it. But, sheesh! Us humans have that mastered!

Whether we’re still chewing leaves, crawling along on a branch, ignorant of the plant it’s growing from, or we’re closed off from the openness we previously enjoyed, seemingly trapped in a closet of darkness – change is coming; freedom and beauty and abilities await us in experiences we haven’t yet imagined.

Just as the caterpillar may have no idea what a butterfly is, or can do, we look around us and see other caterpillars or the dark looking cocoons they’ve crawled into, and may not be able to imagine what we can be.

I don’t think a caterpillar can perceive that a glorious butterfly is already in the making.

What is inside of you?

While we complain about the leaf we’re chewing on, or the darkness of our cocoon, a breathtaking butterfly is in the making!

We’ll have such freedom – to fly further than the caterpillar knows there are places to fly.

Go to a butterfly house and observe; ponder what’s happening there. 

When you rest from the busyness of your day to talk with your Maker, wait on Him; listen.

Don’t let your insatiable hunger scare you. God is there.

Don’t let apparent darkness overwhelm you. God is there.

When you feel the urge to stretch and spread out your newness – use bold force! God is right there, too! He’s waiting on you. Crawl out onto His finger and begin to explore and enjoy your freedoms and all you discover you’re capable of.

Trust Him with the preparations of today.

Trust Him with the darkness that closes in around you.

Trust Him with tomorrow, He’s already there.

Wait Just A Minute Now

(edudemic.com)

I used to wait – for the kids to be born, to walk, to be potty trained, to be in school; till the work day was done, till the kids were old enough to leave at home on their own, till the kids graduated, till we “settled down” instead of moving from base to base….

Now, we’ve retired from the military life. The kids are all grown with kids of their own; some of the grandchildren are almost ready to graduate from high school.

Now, hmmmm….. what was it I was waiting to do?

(edudemic.com)

Or, I’d buy a pretty dress and save it in the closet for a special occasion; when an occasion finally came along I deemed worthy enough for the special dress, alas, I’d either gained or lost weight and it no longer fit me.

Even short term waiting sets us up for failure. I’ll wait for just an hour to go for my walk, until the sun is hotter or the clouds roll out. Alas, that hour turns into several hours and other things crowd into my day; no time for a walk today. I wasted all that sunshine piddling around indoors.

Even waiting to make that mad dash for the ladies room can be detrimental, if you know what I mean.

Yes, sometimes we need to wait. If we pull the cinnamon rolls from the oven after just a minute or two, the dough will be raw and uneatable. If we pull the clothes from the dryer too soon they’ll be too wet to wear. If we drive away while the gas is still pumping into our tank, God only knows what disasters that could create.

But, sometimes waiting is just an excuse; putting off the inevitable until it’s too late. We’re either rushed to fit in our plans, or our plans are completely ruined. We shake it off and wind up playing the same game the next day.

Procrastination.

(lifestyleot.com)

What are we waiting for? The proverbial “engraved invitation”? Are we waiting for someone else to do it for us? Are we waiting for someone else to run with that great idea we had, or thinking that no one else would come up with it?

Are we waiting for “the right time” or “waiting on God’s timing”? Sometimes that’s legit. Sometimes God is waiting on us! Sometimes, yeah – it’s just another rut in our path that procrastination makes deeper. If we let putting things off create enough deep ruts, our road to success will become harder to travel; and that can lead to giving up completely.

Although we can have lots of fun in this life, it’s not much of a game when we’re sitting on the losing end of all the potential we’ve been given. Yes, there’s a time for everything. And our time is NOW!

Rise and shine, Buttercup! Today is not a day for sitting around waiting. 

(xochi.info)

“…I tell you, now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation.” – 2 Corinthians 6:2 (NIV)

“This is all the more urgent, for you know how late it is; time is running out. Wake up, for our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed.” – Romans 13:11 (NLT)

“For everything there is a season,
    a time for every activity under heaven.
A time to be born and a time to die.
    A time to plant and a time to harvest.
A time to kill and a time to heal.
    A time to tear down and a time to build up.
A time to cry and a time to laugh.
    A time to grieve and a time to dance.
A time to scatter stones and a time to gather stones.
    A time to embrace and a time to turn away.
A time to search and a time to quit searching.
    A time to keep and a time to throw away.
A time to tear and a time to mend.
    A time to be quiet and a time to speak.
A time to love and a time to hate.
    A time for war and a time for peace.”

~Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 (NLT)

                                    

(eventbrite.com)

Stifled

(photo from kellychastain.com)

We are all created, by God, with such vast potential that as we are, we cannot wrap our head around all that we can be. And when we become what we couldn’t see yesterday, we still cannot comprehend what we can be tomorrow. We compromise when we surrender to the worldly idea that what we see in our reflection is all there is to us; all that there will ever be in the framework of what we call, “me”.

Being designed in the very image of God, we not only have creative potential, we are creative potential. So it’s not just a matter of what we can do with what we’ve been given, but of what and who we are. We are not human doings, we are human beings.

An apple tree, in all its splendor, gets noticed for what it can produce; beautiful apple blossoms and delicious apples. But whether there is fruit on the tree or not, it’s still an apple tree. Whether we appear to be contributing much to the world around us, we are still people.

We are the crowning glory of God’s creation, not that we were necessarily created to be better that everything else He created, but that we are created to be above the rest.

In the creation account we read: “Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”” – Genesis 1:26-28 (NIV)

I don’t believe for a minute that God wanted us to destroy or be cruel to the life  He put here on earth for us to rule over, but rather, to take care of it, to cherish it and to respect it.

I believe He created us to be power-filled, not impotent and self-deprecating. Power can be usurped, abused and surrendered. God’s Word tells us that the first humans yielded the authority He gave us to an enemy, who crept in with subtlety and deception. Now, of course, being the question-asker I am, I have plenty of questions about this whole scenario, but those questions don’t discount the reality that it happened.

At the point of surrender, our power and authority became perverted and misused, mocked and questioned, even thrown back into the face of our Creator.

Yet, our potential remains. We are still God’s image-bearers, though His image has been tarnished and twisted. And though His image is marred, He remains the same as He’s always been; perfect.

My reflection looks nothing like me if I stand before a dirty, smudged and cracked mirror. Yet if I believe I am as I see that reflection, I’m already defeated before I begin to grow into all I was created to be.

The result of believing the lies the enemy speaks into our lives? His plan to “…steal, kill and destroy…” is put into motion. The life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ redeems us from that plan. (John 10:10)

An acorn can sit on our windowsill and forever be an acorn. However, some will fall to the ground and grow into mighty oak trees. Unlike the acorn, our potential includes choice.

Are you metaphorically sitting in a window, enduring the world around you; are you settling for the enemy’s plan? Or are you choosing to look into your God-given potential and maturing into all that God has for you and for us, through you?