Butterfly

By: Lizzie Williams

I hope you all had a wonderful summer! I know that many of you traveled to other countries, and that’s so awesome! While I didn’t fly out of the US, I did spend the week of the fourth of July in Montana. We drove through yellowstone, spent way too much money on fireworks, and went on a lot of ATV rides. On those ATV rides we saw moose and deer, but the most mind blowing thing we saw were these little purple butterflies. Why? Because even though they were surrounded by beautiful flowers that filled the valleys, they kept flying around the mud left behind in our tire tracks. Every time I would see the cute little beauties landing on the disgusting mud I became more and more confused. “How could such a beautiful thing dwell in such an ugly place?” I thought to myself. Surely the beautiful butterfly belonged among the beautiful flowers, not in the nasty mud. Then, I realized that maybe that’s how God looks at us.

Afterall, we are his beautiful creations. He hand-crafted us, and we are his masterpiece (Ephesians 2:10). Yet time and time again, instead of pursuing the beauty and joy that He provides, we play in the mud (basically, we decide to sin). And to you, the mud may seem great. I mean, none of us sin because we purposefully want to be awful. Often, sin is fun or it brings temporary pleasure. Temptation wouldn’t be tempting if it sucked! So we enjoy the mud and feel no need to fly over to the beautiful flowers that have been gifted to us.

But little butterfly, you were created for so much more than playing in mud! Look around at the gifts God has given you. When we leave the mud to be among the flowers, to be among God and the things he wants us to do, we receive a joy that can be found nowhere else. But even more than that, it gives us purpose. Butterflies help pollinate flowers and they aren’t doing that when they sit in the mud. Similarly, we are called to share the good news of Jesus Christ with the world around us (Matthew 28:19-20). How are we going to say one thing and do another? It doesn’t make sense! Christian means “little Christ” so by taking on that title, we are called to live as Jesus lived. That means it’s time for us to get out of the mud.

I understand that this is no easy task. We all have some sin that we struggle with. I am in no way judging you for sinning because I do it too! Even the greatest people in the Bible sinned (except Jesus of course)! But know that with God, you can overcome this sin, and even when you do slip up, He still loves you. Also, use the resources that he has blessed you with. Don’t make accountability groups just some silly requirement where you take a selfie and leave. Use accountability groups as a tool and a resource. Be real with one another; share your struggles and be an encouragement to your sisters as they struggle as well. Our mission statement says that we exist to encourage and equip one another, so let’s continue and become even better at that this semester and this year.

God loves you and we love you.

If you really want to get out of the mud and focus on the purpose for which God has created you, I recommend declaring that to Him through some time in prayer and worship. Some worship songs that correlate with this message are:

Beautiful things by Gungor

Lay Me Down by Rush of Fools

The Wick by Housefires

Brokenness Aside by All Sons & Daughters

Lord, I Need You by Matt Maher