What happens if a caterpillar does not turn into a butterfly?
The caterpillar will continue to feed while there is food available, until it can no longer grow. Feeding slows down and eventually stops. Since the caterpillar does not form a cocoon or pupae it eventually dies from dehydration.
It has a short window to morph into it’s beauty.
Not so with God’s human creatures.
He gives us ample time to feed and explore. He makes sure we have time to stop and smell the roses when we need to. He allows us to sit on the stoop and ponder what our next steps are.
His grace is sufficient for the healing process.
Sometimes I think we overcomplicate healing our wounds. In its simplest form, healing looks a bit like this:
You can add all the bells and whistles around this, but the essential healing landscape requires these stages.
Each stage can take years – maybe even decades, depending on how aggressive or nonaggressive you want to be.
Often, I revisit a stage during the process. I learned that exploring the wound is just as painful as finding it. Incorporating that story into my being was difficult, too. I’d question myself, “If I incorporate it now into my being, has it been remembered sufficiently by me and God? Have I acknowledged the extent of the wound and given it the love it required?” If those questions were answered affirmatively, it was time to move on.
Think about healing in this way: with each healed wound, a beautiful butterfly has been birthed.
Think of all that beauty flying around your soul!
