Beautiful Struggles
I am new to the world of nonprofits and fundraising so I recently began an online class on it, as well as enlisted a Christian life coach to help me figure out my vision, mission, and purpose. More on those things in a later post…I am still learning.
Anyway, I just finished a great book by Coach Brian Williams called Made to Change the World. So many good nuggets! I did so much highlighting and underlining with stars next to sentences and whole paragraphs that some pages look like a Christmas tree. One story in particular stood out to me that I wanted to share.
The Caterpillar (pages 160-161)
I heard a story years ago about a boy fascinated by a caterpillar. He noticed it for days, and after a while, the squiggly caterpillar began to cocoon. The transformation captured the boy’s attention. Every day he would check it out to see what was happening. At one point, the struggle he watched was so great that the boy couldn’t take it anymore, so he snipped part of the cocoon and out came the pupa. The partially formed butterfly laid there for a while, but then quickly died.
The struggle the boy could not bear to continue to watch was the very process the caterpillar had to endure to be formed into a beautiful butterfly. I tell this story because we go through many struggles in our own loves, and change is hard. It requires struggle. Sometimes it is messy and makes no sense. It can feel painful or insurmountable, yet, like the caterpillar, if the challenge is not allowed to happen, neither is the growth.
Wasn’t that beautiful? Could you relate? I could on so many levels. First, I could relate to the boy in the story. I have watched friends struggle in difficult circumstances and have wanted to help them in any way I could…babysit a difficult child, give them money to pay that bill or fill that tank, clean their house, run those errands, fill their pantry, advocate for them, etc… I know, those sound trivial and like easy fixes to not-so-dire circumstances, but everyone’s hard is different and so are the solutions to their dilemmas. And helping people is not a bad thing! We are encouraged to serve each other and lend a helping hand whenever and wherever we can. But sometimes our helping can hinder the growth God intends for someone He is trying to get from point A to point B in their relationship with Him.
More importantly, I can relate to the caterpillar struggling in a messy, painful, restrictive cocoon of circumstances I would not wish on my worst enemy. At the time, I remember the gamut of emotions - from the ‘poor me’ pity parties to the anger and discouragement to the bittnerness and resentment, and finally to the resignation of ‘it is what it is’. Thankfully, hindsight always kicked in some time later - days, months, even years later, but it still kicked in. Only then would I see with perspective and clarity the reason for that cocoon and even manage gratefulness for the growth that resulted.
So again, can you relate? Is it to the boy or to the caterpillar…or to both? Are you struggling in your cocoon of difficult circumstances right now, wondering if you will ever emerge and, when you do, if it will be wounded and deformed or completely transformed?
I saved the best part of Brian’s story for last…
Instead of trying to avoid uncomfortable challenges, take them to God. Ask Him if you are where you should be right now. Ask God if you are doing what He wants you to do. Sometimes you are doing the wrong thing or are in the wrong spot. He will help you move on when that is the case. Other times, you are right where He wants you because of the impact you will make or the change that will occur. Don’t be afraid to face the challenge, persevere, and grow. Only God knows what you will become after the breakthrough.
But rest assured, whatever you become will be for your good and His glory. I promise. Better yet, God promises (Rom. 8:18, 28).