As the trees come back to life and the grass turns green I think of the classic story, "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" by Eric Carl. I love this story. I remember reading it as a child and now I share it with my children and the preschoolers I teach. As winter fades and spring blossoms I relish in the blessing of new life. I, too, feel as though I am ending one chapter and heading into another blossoming through all that God is teaching me.
I, like that very hungry caterpillar, have experienced a journey of famine that led to an overflowing leading to pains and stretching and a time of seclusion so that He may do His great work in me. I have felt like I was in a cocoon. It was tight and squishy and dark and scary. Many times I tried to wiggle my way out too soon leading to difficulties I most likely would not have faced had I trusted completely in Him. But you see, I got claustrophobic and thought if I could only get myself out of this cocoon a little sooner I can breathe and live and spread my wings. Control. I knew what I could handle and what I could wrap my brain around therefore, in my mind, I was done in that murky cold place that was far too tight. And then He tugged on me.
What I didn't realize is that the only way He could turn me into the beautiful masterpiece He had created I had to go through the process that was the cocoon. I had to push and be pulled back. To hurt. To question. Feel. And fret. I had to be tried and experience great joys. I had to be moved in such a mighty way that I am changed. As this season of my life comes to a close and He leads me on a new journey, I get to spread the magnificent wings He has given me and soar into the story He has written for me.
"being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." Phillippians 1:6
Teenage Mother A donkey owner Simon of Cyrene Who are these people? I am sure you can figure out the first one: Mary the mother of Jesus. Who are the others and what do all three of these people have in common? They all did extraordinary things but, for the most part, went unseen. Do you ever feel unseen? Undervalued? I do. I try not to get caught up in that space, but I find myself there too often. While Mary is infamous today, she wasn't when she brought the King into this world. She was a teenager who gave birth in a barn. She was an outcast who was pregnant but not married. She told of an unbelievable story involving an angel, a Spirit, and a Savior who was going to save the world. Could you even imagine? It's easy for us to be in awe of Mary. We know the whole story. She didn't. And neither did the people around her. She had to live it. To top it all off, she had to watch her beloved son die a gruesome death. Talk about feeling unseen and undervalued. She faithfu...
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