Butterflies in Bloom

 But ask the animals, and they will teach you, or the birds in the sky, and they will tell you; or speak to the earth, and it will teach you, or let the fish in the sea inform you. Which of all these does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this? In his hand is the life of every creature and the breath of all mankind. 

Job 12:7-10

As spring finally makes its slow arrival here, I am eagerly awaiting the fluttering of butterflies on my lilac blooms. It always seems to take forever for spring to get here, and then another eternity for summer. It always seems like we just get our pool open and it's already time to close it down for fall. The seasons are feeling shorter and shorter, and I don't know why that is. When I was a child, summer felt like it went on endlessly, and so did a long, hot day at the beach. Now I'm watching the days fly by and my life go along with it, and trying to hold on to every moment like it's my last. When I finally start seeing butterflies on the lilacs, it feels like all is right with the world! 

 I remember a beautiful day at the beach in Petoskey when suddenly I found myself the target of an enamored butterfly. It was fluttering around me, so I put my hand out to it, and it landed on my finger and then gently flitted around my face and shoulders. We all went silent, just watching it play with me and my joyful reaction.  This was one of those moments that I wanted time to stop, and every time I look at those pictures, I just sink into that feeling of joy. 

People say butterflies are a sign that a loved one who passed is visiting. I'm not sure I think that, but I would like to think God gives us moments in nature to heal our souls, and if a visit from a butterfly is what brings us joy, then He will use a butterfly. 

I've been thinking about the life cycle of a butterfly and all the steps it must go through in order to become a beautiful winged creature. A butterfly lays it eggs on a leaf that must be undisturbed long enough to become a caterpillar, then the caterpillar needs to eat and then transform into a chrysalis. It must be completely still so predators will leave it alone, and then it will eventually emerge as a butterfly with beautiful wings. Even after this, the wings need to dry and harden to ready it for flight.  This metamorphosis takes about 3 weeks, but so much can happen between each stage, it's amazing butterflies survive at all. 

There is a metamorphosis of people that we don't see as well. If you were to read some of my earlier writings, you may have one impression of me. If you read something I wrote from two years ago, you may have another. But if you read something from last month, you may get yet another. This doesn't mean I'm wishy-washy in my convictions, but it does show I'm capable of growth and change. I may have strong feelings and opinions on a Monday, but have a conversation with a wise person on a Tuesday and completely change my views. I want to be more open and more willing to search out what God wants me to say instead of what I want to say. I invite opportunities to grow my perspective and knowledge, and I don't want to be stuck in wrong thinking if that's the case.  But if a person is stuck seeing my caterpillar stage, they will never get to know me as a butterfly. 

but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. 

1 Corinthians 13:10-12

Butterflies really take a big risk, and so should we. There are times we need to hang in a quiet chrysalis for awhile and think about what we've said or done, what we've gone through, or how we presented ourselves. We may need to make some adjustments while we're sitting still, and risk looking dull and lifeless for awhile. We could get knocked off our branches, eaten by predators, written off as "ugly," or maybe those who really know us will understand that it's a life cycle of change, and the breakthrough is coming. 

Love prospers when a fault is forgiven, but dwelling on it separates close friends. 

Proverbs 17:9 

It makes me wonder how many people we are still thinking of as caterpillars because of something that happened years ago, and we haven't even thought that maybe they think differently now, and they've long flown that image we had. How many friends have we lost because we heard something we didn't like and we didn't care enough to stick around and get the rest of the story? To see the rest of their cycle through? 

I have yet to completely find my wings every day. I have caterpillar days, chrysalis days, and sometimes even egg days. What I hope to find are other wet-winged butterflies who understand that life is a cycle of growth, and we don't always present our best self. I won't always say the right or best thing, but I'm always willing to communicate if someone cares enough to ask me what I meant. Grace is a two-way gift that helps me understand that others need the same understanding that I do in order to keep going strong. We can get each other through every stage of life and it can be beautiful in the end. 

Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins.

1 Peter 4:8