How Not to Kill a Butterfly

By Jill Palmer
 
Let him struggle
 
A few years ago I read a story about a man who had found a cocoon on a walk and decided to take it home and watch the miracle unfold. One day he noticed that there was a little hole in it and he watched for hours as the butterfly struggled to find it's way out of the cocoon through this tiny little hole. At some point it seemed to stop progressing so the man figured it had done all it could do and went to find some scissors to help it along.

He carefully snipped off the end of the cocoon and the butterfly easily came out. He was surprised, however, to discover that the butterfly's body was swollen and it's wings were shriveled. He expected the wings to dry out in a few hours but they never did. In fact the butterfly was never able to fly.

You see, the butterfly needed to struggle out of the cocoon because that's what helps transform it into the beautiful, flying miracle that it is. The struggle through the hole helps force the moisture from its wings and also helps strengthen them so they can fly.

I never realized that. I never realized the power of the struggle.

I hate struggling. I hate watching others struggle. It's messy and uncomfortable and painful! When it comes to my own walk with the Lord I just want Him to reveal to me the part of me that needs changing, then I'll acknowledge it and allow Him to change it. Done and done.

Except that's not how it has ever worked. Ever.

It's more like "Okay God, I got this. Thanks for changing me." And two days later I'm frustrated because I'm still not healed/changed/patient etc...

Why?!

Why do I have to struggle through this transformation process? Why can't God just come in with His beautiful, giant, gentle scissors and give me a careful little snip that will help me along? I'm tired and weary and ready to give up! This is painful and exhausting.

But He won't pull out His giant scissors because He loves me. He loves me so much He allows me to struggle. He doesn't want me to die - He wants to see me flourish and fly! He knows that my struggle helps to squeeze out the last bit of the "old" me - the selfish me. He knows that the struggle strengthens my wings and teaches me to fly. He's told me in His Word that I am a new creation and frankly I don't really know how to operate in this new freedom - this new life.

So my struggles teach me. They teach me to rely on Him. They teach me that in my weakness He is strong. They teach me that I am loved and that I have a Maker that knows my name, knows my deepest needs and will take care of me.

It's hard though. Hard to struggle. You know what else is hard? Painfully hard? Watching someone you love deeply struggle. Watching your spouse or child or a dear friend or loved one. Watching them struggle to push themselves through this incredible situation knowing there's not a thing you can do about it. You desperately want to rescue them but if you do that they won't be able to live as the new creation they are. The butterfly can't live it's life to the fullest if it doesn't struggle. It will die because the butterfly wasn't made to crawl around and eat leaves anymore. It was made to fly, to drink from gorgeous flowers, to rise above it's old life.

So you sit back and watch and struggle with the uncomfortableness of it all...as you watch the struggle - and the miracle - unfold. And you know that the Creator of all things knows what's going on. He has His hand right in the middle of it and He can be trusted. Even if the situation looks, and is, painful. He knows what we - and they - need and He hasn't forgotten us.

He sees the final picture. The glorious creation He had in mind. And He smiles because He knows we can and will survive...because of the struggle.