I Was Born To Be A Butterfly | Previous Challenge Entry

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TITLE: I Was Born To Be A Butterfly | Previous Challenge Entry
By Jackie Schmidt
01/19/08
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I was born to be a butterfly,
To flit and fly away,
But each butterfly must earn her wings,
Through life’s backward ways.

I started my life as a caterpillar,
Crawling along the ground.
I yearned to fly and be free as a bird,
But I couldn’t get off the ground.

I struggled and strove,
Worked and climbed.
I made lots of mistakes.
I took many wrong turns,
I climbed high as I could,
But still I could not fly.

On my back I carried each hurt,
As I struggled to earn my wings.
I tried, and tried,
And tried some more,
But nothing ever changed.
The harder I tried, the harder it got,
The lower I seemed to sink.

Those mistakes of the past I carried with me
Began to encase my being.
Slowly they began to surround my soul,
In a cocoon of guilt and shame.

As time went by my cocoon became thicker
Until I wanted to die.
I had no more hope.
I forgot my dream.
I knew I would never fly.

Then one day I heard a voice
The tiniest voice I heard.
It was the Lord,
My Father in Heaven,
Whispering in my ear.
He said, “You were not born to be a caterpillar.
But a beautiful butterfly.
You cannot live in a cocoon
For you are my great creation.”

I felt great hope,
I felt great joy,
Maybe my dream could come true.
I cried to the Lord,
“Take me from this cocoon.
Break it so I can be free.”

He said, “No, I cannot.
If I break your cocoon you will surely die.
Every butterfly must break her own cocoon
If she wishes to fly,
Now you are weak,
But the breaking of your cocoon will make you strong.
Then you will be strong enough to fly.”

So I did as He said.
As he taught me the way.
And I slowly regained my strength.
I worked day and night,
Chipped away at my pride,
And threw away all of my vices.

Again the Lord came to me.
This time He said,
“Today is the day you shall fly.
Leave your cocoon.
Do not be afraid,
For you know I will not let you fail.”

I did as he said,
I gave one last push,
And out from the cocoon I came.
I looked at myself,
And loved what I saw,
What a beautiful butterfly I was.

I flew to my Lord,
And hugged him so tight.
He was my true savior,
And love of my life.
We flew through the sky,
Together we flew,
He wanted to show me it all.

All around where I looked,
I saw all sorts of people,
Caterpillars on the ground.
Some slugged through the muck.
Some climbed the tall trees.
Some were hidden in thick cocoons.
Cocoons built of hurt,
Cocoons built of shame,
All at different degrees of formation.

I looked to my Lord,
And saw love in his eyes
As he gazed down at his children.
He loved each one as he loved me,
And carefully tended their needs.
He protected those busily spinning cocoons.
He helped those trying to break free.
But he loved each one with all his heart,
Despite the life they were living.

We all were born to be butterflies.
To flit, and fly, and be free.
But all butterflies must earn their wings
By believing in he who is King.

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