May the true story of Easter transform our hearts and souls into the people we are called to be.
I have been seeing a lot of butterflies lately which is not unusual for spring time, but I have seen them enough to make a mental note. Then my mom sent a picture of one and I knew I was supposed to be paying attention.
I love the timeline of a butterfly. It starts off as a caterpillar, just a worm really, crawling around and looking for something to eat. You would have to make an effort to find most of them because they simply blend and if you did find one, you wouldn’t give it a second glance. You certainly wouldn’t be interested in a photo.
Then it wraps itself in a cocoon which is even a lowlier state than the caterpillar was. To the casual observer who knows no better, you would assume that it is dead. Why would you think otherwise? The business of transforming is often not pretty or fast. It takes time, patience and faith, something we often find ourselves short on, but nature has a way of reminding us to walk more closely with God and to align ourselves with His timing.
Easter weekend begins with Good Friday and the remembrance of the crucifixion. It’s certainly not pretty. It’s horrible, painful and bloody and necessary for salvation. We simply can’t get to Easter morning without going through Good Friday. Butterflies are not born as butterflies. They are transformed from what they were into something spectacular.
I am always tempted to skip over Good Friday. It’s hard. I can’t imagine what the people who truly loved Jesus must have thought on that Friday or the Saturday that followed. To them, all was lost. Saturday was probably as hard as Friday was, but God had a plan and on Sunday morning, the earth and all of its inhabitants were forever changed.
True redemption and grace were born when the disciples found an empty tomb. Jesus was not there because He was not dead and His resurrection has the power to transform us all. As we celebrate this Easter, may we feel the weight of Good Friday along with the joy of Easter and become the transformed people that Easter calls us to be. We may be born as caterpillars, but God wants us to be butterflies.
Happy Easter! He is risen!
Have an awesome day!
Wendy 🙂