I was talking with my friend, Bethany, last night about change. And about how when we are in Christ the Lord doesn't promise us "comfortable" cookie-cutter lives. In fact, he promises the opposite - that we will be persecuted, divided from the ones we love, hated even, if we decide to follow him; but that we don't need to fear, because he has overcome the world.
Bethany just moved to Tacoma, WA (shout out to my WA friends/family!) after spending 4 yrs here in Greenville. She's an Iowa native. If anyone can relate to her current situation - - Its me. Since I went through a similar transition last year.
The analogy that I used when we were talking was this (and she thought I should share with the world, so here I am writing while Heather is using the shower): Caterpillars.
See Caterpillars are enjoying their Caterpillar world. Squirming along on tree limbs, eating leaves, enjoying the sun and the other bugs. They are comfortable with their life. (OK, for a moment suspend you arguments about soul-less creatures and just go with me) Then all of a sudden they are making this cocoon and wrapping themselves in it - and that can't be comfortable after they've had all this freedom their whole life! They're in the dark, close space of the cocoon and its not what they are used to - no fresh air, no leaves to chomp, warm and humid, smelly. But after a while, they start to get used to it. Shortly after, they realize that they are too big for this little tomb, and they start to stretch and fidget and the cocoon breaks open. And now they are out in the light, so bright and cold out there! They have these wings, and they're wet - they can't squirm along the branches like they used to - everything is different and not the same. They try to figure out how to walk and fly and eat, and nothing is comfortable - AGAIN.
Well, thats how life is for us, too. We are caterpillars one day, and then everything changes.
I'm not saying its better or worse to be a butterfly than a caterpillar. For some people heights aren't a good thing - they may rather be a caterpillar than a butterfly. The point is that neither is comfortable their whole life. And neither will we be if we are truly heeding the call of our Lord to seek and save the lost.
We are called to a life of sacrifice. Some people are called to floggings, prison and persecution; others are called to live in the inner-city when they were from the suburbs; others called to give up their dream of marriage, or a certain career, or certain relationships or entertainment.
Its not comfortable. And thats how it should be.
Heather is out of the shower and my hair has a date with the hair dryer. Blessings today, Tiff
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2 comments:
Hi, I randomly came across your page and read your latest post and ensuing analogy regarding the caterpillar, coccoon, butterfly scenario. It's not only interesting because Nature provides humankind with a plethora of similar examples but I gave pause to wonder, as your argument had me posing this question: Why should be tolerate a life of suffering, when happiness is all around us?
Life is hard. Right. Vice is everywhere. Right. The hardest paths are the right ones. Right. The easy way out is the hardest not to take. Right.
But we only have to read our own history or even fictitious stories and parables about vice and suffering and evil to understand that the world can be potentially full of all of things if we chose to ackowledge them as equal and similarly-pressing and present forces as are it's opposite: good, kindness, positivity, sharing. Inversely, we can use these realizations and those lessons to avoid the pitfalls of negativity and vice and by means of that mental evolution, gain a life of comfort and happiness. It's not that hard.
In all, I appreciate your analogy and that it got me thinking. Have a great Wednesday and consequent October.
S*
Tiffani!
Thanks so much... I love it!
BGIRL - I may link directly to it from my blog!
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