So, I spent most of the day yesterday watching over this little one.
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Our yard has a ton of lizards as well as other wildlife including butterflies. We planted some butterfly bushes and they just love them. Anyway, we had a chrysalis hanging on our chain link fence for a while and I check it daily to see if it is empty. Yesterday, I took the dog out around 11am and noticed the butterfly had recently hatched from his chrysalis. He was hanging on to the fence but all around him were lizards and a few were heading straight in his direction to eat him. So, I kept flicking them off and tapping the fence to make they run off. That only made them go get reinforcements. I mean there were about 10 of all ages trying to get the butterfly no matter what I did. The lil guy fell on the ground and grabbed onto a blade of grass right next to where the fattest lizard was hanging out and waiting. I couldn’t stand by and let him get devoured so I swooped in and broke the blade of grass and carried him and the grass away. I brought him closer to the house so I could keep an eye on him until he flew away.
The whole time I could not help but think of this verse:
Revelation 12:4-6
His tail swept down a third of the stars of heaven and cast them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she bore her child he might devour it. She gave birth to a male child, one who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron, but her child was caught up to God and to his throne…
I felt like it was a bit symbolic that I swept that freshly born butterfly away to a safe place to fly away. Just as Jesus will catch up his believers to his throne before the dragon can devour us and the tribulation begins. Then, when it is all said and done, Jesus will physically come back again to rule and reign.
Usually, it takes a butterfly about 2 hours from hatching before they can fly off. This guy took all day and struggled to get fluid and air flow to his wings the whole day long. I thought he may not make it as he was still not flying by the time I went to bed. I prayed for him to be able to live out his life. This morning my husband checked and he was still there. He had been there all night long and had not budged. I was upset about it but by 9am he had flown off. Yay! Praise the Lord!
To me this is much like those of us who belong to Jesus having struggles in life as we wait to fly away. We are stretching out our wings and drawing them back in on our watch for him to take us to our safe place. Our true home. That dragon is sitting on ready to devour us as we watch this beast system being set up. We are seeing people struggling with mandates and more government control over life. We are seeing the earth groaning for the Lord to come back.
Romans 8:18-25
For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience…
We stretch out those wings on high watch times and draw them back in as it passes and we keep watching. Even though it is tedious and seems like it is taking forever and like we just wont make it or can’t keep up the watch, one day soon, at appointed hour, we WILL fly away.
1 Thessalonians 4:16-18
For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. Therefore encourage one another with these words.
I love all of God’s creation. We tend to over look what the Lord has provided us to enjoy and to learn more about his heart in his creation. He provides us with so much beauty to observe and ponder over. All of his creation is here not only for that but, to draw us closer to the creator. He uses all of it to teach us about himself, to speak to us and, to call us to search him out. It does the soul and spirit good to focus on the Lord and his creation more than staying on the internet or watching television.
One day soon he will cleanse what has been corrupted and then create a brand new heaven and Earth. We will be able to live free from the corruption and in harmony with his wild life. No longer will living beings devour each other. All his creation will be able live together peacefully. It will be a glorious and beautiful time that will last forever. I can not wait for that day!
Keep watching brothers and sisters in Jesus! Soon and very soon we are going to fly away and see the King!
RELEVANT LINKS:
- Butterflies in the Bible: Meaning and Symbolism (Not a fan of this site but, this article was interesting. As always, use discernment)
- MONARCH BUTTERFLIES (Not familiar to this site but I did like this article)
BONUS LINKS:
- Iceberg, Right Ahead!
- Hope Holdup
- OCTOBER 16 marks the Day of Atonement, the holiest day of the year in Judaism. (By and from TW Tramm’s social media page)
How To Get To Heaven
