The Butterfly Letter
Several years ago, I had just emerged from a struggle
against low self-esteem, when I wrote the letter you see below to accompany a
birthday present I had bought for my older sister. I was browsing through Hobby Lobby when I had
come across a pink and blue glass butterfly figurine. There were other glass butterflies, but this
one was the only one of its color. It
was different from the others. And in
that moment, the Lord spoke to me a message that I later typed out on paper and
presented to my sister along with the butterfly figurine. That was one of the first lessons I learned
as God was teaching me to hear His voice in the everyday matters of life. It’s a very powerful letter that speaks to
the message of my most recent post on Heart-chords. If you’ve not already read that post, I
encourage you to do so because the topic is something I’m so passionate about
and burdened for others over. You can
find it under the post titled More Beautiful You on my Heart-chords blog
at www.heartchords.blogspot.com. As you read the letter below, I pray you let
the Lord speak to you and allow His truths to minister to the broken areas of
your fears and insecurities and to set you free.
New Creation~
The butterfly
is one of God’s most unique creatures.
It begins as a lowly caterpillar and grows through the stages of
metamorphosis until one day, after its long period of resting, it emerges as a
breathtaking butterfly. Likewise, we are
a new creation in Christ Jesus. Day by
day He is molding and making us into the new creation that He desires us to
be. It is His desire that we become more
like Him; that we follow after Him and seek His face. Just as the butterfly no longer remembers what
he used to be, God wants to wipe away every blemish from us and He desires to
bless us in ways greater than our human minds could ever possibly fathom. However, we must surrender everything to Him;
to forget the former things and to look forward with anticipation to all that
He has planned for our future. To never
look back with regret upon our past failures and mistakes, for they do not
define who we are and bring no limitations on how we can be used by God. For man looks at the outward appearance and
may criticize what they see, but the Lord looks at the heart, and as children
of God, He sees no spot or blemish, but rather sees a heart that is eager and
willing to serve Him and to further His kingdom. Let not the remembrance of former things
weigh down your wings and prevent you from doing and receiving all that God has
in store for you, for the Lord sees you as His perfect bride, and in Him, you
are a new creation.
creation; the old
has gone, the new has come!”
~2Corinthians 5:17
Because the
Lord gave the butterfly wings to fly, we think of the butterfly as a beautiful
splash of color that we see flying high above the ground in a clear summer blue
sky. God has blessed us each with a
unique dream, a passion that He has placed within our hearts. For some of us, it may be to reach those in a
far off country with the love of God, or it may be to travel the U.S. from
coast to coast. I personally believe
that often we’re blessed with more than one dream. The world may laugh and ridicule us for
pursuing the dreams God has placed within us, but they laugh at those things
which they do not understand. Today’s
society doesn’t truly know what the word “dream” means, for faith and belief
are necessary fundamentals that partner with the word. For a goal to be achieved and for a dream to
be attained, faith is mandatory; for without faith in our Lord God and belief
that nothing is impossible with Him, we can never soar to the place that He is
calling us to strive towards. To the
world a dream is simply nothing more than a fanciful image we visualize during
our subconscious stage of sleep. But the
true definition of a dream has far more depth than that. A dream is a fervent passion that God has
kindled within your soul and is continuing to fuel the flame. A dream is intended to be used for His glory
and to further His kingdom. Our Heavenly
Father has a plan for each of our futures and no matter the criticism we
receive while pursuing those plans, the Lord God is faithful always and will
use our willingness to do marvelous things to glorify Him. With faith, hope, and determination, we can
continue on with our pursuit and not allow ourselves to be influenced by others
skepticism. With God we can accomplish
all that He desires for us to do and we can succeed in the missions and tasks
that He has placed before us. With our
Lord Jesus as our guide, we can fly to the highest heights.
~Luke 1:37
This
butterfly was the very last one of its color and it stood out amongst the
others for that exact reason. But it was
for that reason, however, that I bought it.
When God created each of us, He created us unique and special. Of course, we’ve all heard the illustration
of the snowflake: just as each snowflake is unique and different from all of
the others, so are we each unique and special; there is no one else like
you. This is a truth that was instilled
in us at a very young age, but often times, our “uniqueness” begins to feel
common and ordinary. After all, if everyone’s
different, what’s so special about it?
It’s true that everyone is different and that there really is no one
else like you, but not everyone proudly displays their uniqueness. We live in a society and culture today that
revolves around peer pressure- everybody looks the same and acts the same,
partakes in the same activities, and finds themselves on the same road,
ultimately. God has designed us to be
our each own unique person, the person that He created us to be. As children of God, we are called to be the
salt of the earth, to shine our lights in this dark world so that others may
see the light and follow as we journey towards our ultimate source of light
(Mat. 5:14). We are to preach the gospel
and show God’s love and mercy, hope and grace to others that they may come to
know our Savior and Lord. God blesses us
each with a unique gift to serve Him with and to use for the purpose of
furthering His kingdom (1Peter 4:10). As
we willingly offer ourselves to Him as His instruments, we grow closer to Him
and His light shines through us. But
this only results from a soul that is courageous, not cowardly, for it does
take great courage to dare to follow your dreams, use your unique gifts, and
stand out and be the beautiful person that the Lord designed and created you to
be. But you must be willing to endure
the criticism and ridicule, for the world does scorn those that are different
from them, but the product is far worth the effort.
but a woman who
fears the Lord is to be praised.”
~Proverbs 31:30
New Seasons~
God
specifically designed the butterfly to migrate to other climates when the
leaves begin to change colors, when the season is right. He is also ever calling us to new heights and
challenging us to deepen our relationship with Him. He desires us to grow and mature in Him, but
there is a price. As people, we dislike
change; we grow comfortable where we are and are reluctant to stepping out of
our comfort zone. But the Lord desires
for us to trust Him with all of our hearts and to believe that He is calling us
to a better place. Just as Abraham, we
may not always see the big picture and know where we are going, but when the
Lord calls, it’s time to roll up the tents and follow (Hebrews 11:8). When the winds blow, it’s time to rise up on
your wings and soar on the current. If
we let God be our guide, He will plant us where He desires us to be and, by His
careful gardening and watering of His Word, we will blossom and bear fruit
(Proverbs 16:3). If we dedicate our
lives to Him and His service, if we give Him complete, total control and make
Him the focus of all that we attempt, He will strengthen our faith. As we “migrate” to new locations, our walk
with God is deepened and, with His mercy and grace, we can bloom and grow as we
start afresh. For the Lord is still the
same today as He was yesterday and He will never leave you to wander on
alone. He never asks more of us than
what we are capable of achieving and His timing is never wrong.
a time for every
purpose under heaven.”
~Ecclesiastes 3:1
The butterfly
was designed not just to fly, but to soar.
Each individual was intended to soar, as well. God gave His only Son so that we can live in
freedom from the bondage of sin and so that we might soar with Him higher than
we could possibly ever imagine. He
desires us to live in that freedom, to enjoy that which was paid by an
immeasurable cost. Nothing we could ever
offer could repay the sacrifice that was given for the purchase of our freedom,
so as we spread our wings, let us not be content to hover near the ground, but
to rise far above the clouds. Let us
take courage and live in the great freedom that is given to us, and with the
Lord guiding our every step, let us soar.
you will be free
indeed.”
~John 8:36
Butterfly on Flower photo
courtesy: www.123rf.com
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