Have you ever had a time when you were out in the world, doing your thing, and something catches your eye, and you just know you’ve received a little sign from heaven? For instance, I have heard it said, “When cardinals appear, angels are near.” People I know have interpreted this as little visits from heaven after loved ones have passed away, as these cardinal sightings bring them great peace and joy. I also know a young married couple in which white roses have a great meaning to them when they appear in different places, whether it be a single rose or a bouquet of roses.
For me, it is the white butterfly. I find that when I am stressed, amid change, feeling alone, or even on joyful days, a white butterfly will flutter past as a reminder that I am not alone. I still remember the day that these butterflies became very significant in my life. One day, before I had joined the Community, I was hanging out at Galveston State Park in Texas. My friends had gone out kayaking, and I was left to venture alone on foot for a while. After having a little pity party for myself, walking along the trails. I began talking to God, and suddenly I looked around to see what seemed like hundreds of little white butterflies flying all around me. I remember this brought such joy to my heart, and my spirits were lifted. I knew that was God speaking to me at that moment. Since then, when one flies around me, I know without a doubt that God is nearby.
Someone once said, “Without change, there would be no butterflies.” This is one of my favourite quotes.
There is something about the butterfly that has always intrigued me. They start as a caterpillar, something many people would not call pretty, but then they go into their cocoon. Then, they emerge as something so beautiful. However, the thing I tend to forget is the struggle in between. Before they can show their new selves off and take flight, they must first fight against the cocoon to get out. It is in that time of struggle that forces the blood to flow out to the wings to make them strong to fly.
Change is never easy for me, or likely for anyone, for that matter. The beloved Apostle tells us in John 15:1-2,
“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch of mine that bears no fruit, he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit.”
Whatever may be going on, whether it be a new move, a different assignment, grief, or life in general, that can make life feel like a struggle, maybe it is God doing some pruning to allow life to be even more fruitful than before. It is in what may seem like that dark time inside the cocoon where God is doing the pruning. Even in the darkest of times, and in the struggle to get out when the pruning is complete, God is there. I am not alone.
Pruning most definitely hurts, but God is a master gardener. He knows just the right time and season to prune the hearts of his children. Do I like being pruned? Not at all. I just have to trust that God is taking care of me and snipping off the parts that will allow me to grow into the person He wants me to be. When this season of pruning and changing is complete, then I will emerge as a stronger and more beautiful me on the other side of the cocoon. I may just have plain wings like the white butterflies’, but they are still beautiful in God’s eyes.
In the end, these white butterflies are not only my little signs from heaven, but they remind me that I am loved, I am strong, I am beautiful, and I am not alone!
Are there any tangible signs that remind you of God’s presence in your life?
Photo credit: Unsplash
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