Baby Strokes: She Emerged From Her Cocoon....and SWAM?!

You may have read that the first chapter in this blog, titled, "Baby Steps", has ended. I have titled Chapter 2,
"Baby Strokes"
you'll soon see why.
This season, it is all about swimming....
BUTTERFLY
A man found a cocoon of a butterfly. One day a small opening appeared. He sat and watched the butterfly for several hours as it struggled to force its body through that little hole. Then it seemed to stop making any progress. It appeared as if it had gotten as far as it could, and it could go no further.

So the man decided to help the butterfly. He took a pair of scissors and snipped off the remaining bit of the cocoon.
The butterfly then emerged easily. But it had a swollen body and small, shriveled wings.
The man continued to watch the butterfly because he expected that, at any moment, the wings would enlarge and expand to be able to support the body, which would contract in time.

Neither happened! In fact, the butterfly spent the rest of its life crawling around with a swollen body and shriveled wings. It never was able to fly.

What the man, in his kindness and haste, did not understand was that the restricting cocoon and the struggle required for the butterfly to get through the tiny opening were God's way of forcing fluid from the body of the butterfly into its wings so that it would be ready for flight once it achieved its freedom from the cocoon.

Sometimes struggles are exactly what we need in our lives. If God allowed us to go through our lives without any obstacles, it would cripple us.

We would not be as strong as what we could have been.
We could never fly!
***

I hate that story. (Insert gag reflux here).

I know, some of you are swooning and soaking in the inspiration about God giving us trials and struggles to make us stronger....but, I think it sucks. Really. As the ESPN newscasters would yell...."C'MON MAN!" (I love that bit).

Not every caterpillar who sets out to become a butterfly, even with the struggles and strife in his cocoon, turn out to be symmetrically beautiful, gracefully soaring insects. They don't all reach their goal. They don't all achieve their dream. Guess what? Neither do we.

Some athletes, who work all of their lives to achieve the dream of becoming champion in their sport, suffer debilitating injuries before they hit that coveted status. Some business leaders, who have given up families, time and leisure for the good of the company, get laid off before they earn their millions. Some students, who study and work and deprive themselves of sleep, don't get into the college of their dreams. Some cancer patients who suffer through chemo therapy, holistic medicine, and fervent prayer, still die. Some couples, who endure years and years of infertility treatments, don't end up with a child of their own.

We don't always get what we work very, very hard to achieve. That's why I hate that story. It leaves me wondering...."But...what about that little butterfly?"

He worked and worked and yet, through no fault of his own, ended up crippled? That little, precious creature from heaven who struggled tirelessly, still didn't have beautiful wings. What happened to the sweet, little guy who was not able to fly? Regardless of how he ended up there, and, despite all of his efforts - the pushing and pulling and aching and breaking - he didn't turn out like he anticipated....like all of the other butterflies.

What about him? If I could continue that story, I would change it. I would add to it, something like this:

That little butterfly, with the shriveled up, swollen body was very sad that he hadn't turned out like he expected. BUT, while he seemed crippled, he saw that he was still alive. AND, He was much stronger than he was as a caterpillar. He could now visit the dandelions and drink the nectar and soak up the sunshine. Most importantly, he discovered, that while he couldn't fly, he still had talents. God hadn't abandoned him by crippling him. He had given him a amazingly unexpected gift.

So, he crawled on and on and on. He crawled through shadows and over boulders and under rainstorms. He crawled so long and so far that he became very thirsty. So, he crawled to the edge of a beautiful pond. He dipped his head to take a drink and in that moment, a rush of wind knocked him right into the pond. As he fell, he thought for sure this was the end of him. But....then a miracle happened. Much like emerging from the cocoon and realizing he could FLY, he fell into a pond and realized.....

he could SWIM!

It wasn't the outcome he had expected. It wasn't the miracle he had hoped for, but, it was an amazing gift! A butterfly who could SWIM!? He went on to live in joy and peace amongst the flowers, grass, sunshine and ponds and was amazed just how special his story had turned out to be. The other butterflies watched him, amazed at his new found strength and delight. He went on to be the best HE could be....even though he watched his friends and family turn from caterpillars into beautiful, flying butterflies. He knew he was special. He knew he had learned to SWIM for a reason. He knew, deep in his heart, that there was a purpose.

A butterfly who could swim? Huh. What a beautiful thing.

That is how I would end that story. Our dreams don't always come true...the way we think they should....in the time we believe they should....sometimes we have to learn to swim even though we'd really like to fly.

So, Baby Steps has closed its chapter, but, our journey continues. It hasn't gone away. While attitudes and ideas and initiatives have ended, I am still that butterfly....but, today, I am swimming. Maybe one day I will fly - I'm believing that I will - but, for now....The water feels great. The sun is warm. I am swimming.

Because I can.