Butterfly

When I think of a butterfly, I no longer think of the beautifully colored insect, I think of my daughter's iPad. She named her iPad Butterfly, simply because it has a butterfly-shaped cover. As many parents would agree, iPads seem to be this generation's kryptonite. All I have to do to get the waterworks going is threaten to take Butterfly away. It should not be that easy, but it is. Butterfly should not have that much power, but she does. Needless to say, I hate Butterfly, she is my arch-nemesis. Nevertheless, I was reminded the other day what a butterfly actually is. I was helping my daughter with her reading assignment when the story caught my attention. A duck and caterpillar were hanging out having fun until one day the caterpillar started to feel different. “I'm not sick,” she said. “I just need to climb up this tree and rest for a while.” I knew right away where this was going. This was my opportunity to show my daughter everything I know about metamorphosis, which is nothing, but I know that caterpillars turn into butterflies, just enough information for me to flex in front of her.

“You know what is about to happen, right?” I asked her.

“No,” she replied.

“That caterpillar is going to climb the tree and rest, and when it wakes up it will be a butterfly.”

“Really?” she asked suspicious about my claim.

“Yeah, it's going to go up there, wrap itself in a blanket called a cocoon, and emerge a beautiful butterfly.” I hoped that I was telling the truth; I would fact-check the details later, but at that moment, I could not help but think about God's goodness. God took a squirmy little creature like a caterpillar and turned it into a beautiful butterfly. “Incredible, right?” I asked, not waiting for her answer. “God is incredible! Think about how thoughtful and creative God is, I mean, people step on caterpillars and don't think twice about it, but when you see a butterfly, you stop and take notice. When you see a butterfly, you point at it in awe because it is so beautiful, it is a phenomenon!” I could not believe it; we were actually talking about Butterfly for once and I was the one crying.

“What's wrong Mama,” she asked as a tear ran down my cheek.

“It's not what's wrong babe, it's what's right. God is good.”

“For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother’s womb. I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, and that my soul knows very well. My frame was not hidden from You, when I was made in secret, and skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book, they all were written, the days fashioned for me, when as yet there were none of them” (Psalm 139:13-16).

I wonder if David was reading a story about a duck and a caterpillar when he began to write Psalm 139. Something inspired him to reflect deeply upon God's goodness, thoughtfulness, and care towards His creation.

What if we all reflected on what God actually does every millisecond of every day, not just for us but for all of creation? What if we appreciated the fact that God knew us before our mothers even knew we were growing in their wombs? What if we thought about each and every tissue, atom, and cell that goes into our everyday functioning? What if we considered the fact that God did not just toss us together in a lab like a clone but He breathed into us with His own breath? For those of us who accept Jesus Christ, He even gives to us His Holy Spirit to live within us and guide us through this life. What if we reflected upon the fact that, just as He knew us before we existed to the world, He knows our current existence and our future? His eyes saw our substance yet unformed and He fashioned the days for us that we have yet to even see.

God is thoughtful, He is loving and He cares. “He has made everything beautiful in its time,” from the squirmy little caterpillar to the child in his mother's womb (Eccl. 3:11). Is that not just like God, to take something so small and insignificant and use it for His glory? Every day a caterpillar or two gets its wings. Next time you are low to the ground, feeling like a squirmy little creature, think about how high you will one day soar. Think about how caterpillars get to be butterflies and trust that God has a much more thoughtful plan in store for you.