While I have always appreciated butterflies… their journey from an ugly, crawly thing (sorry caterpillars!) to a beautiful, flying work of art… I never really gave them much more brain space than that. I admit, the whole metamorphosis story is cause for pause to reflect on how ingenious God truly is, but to me, a butterfly was simply a butterfly.
It actually took a garage makeover to transform my view of butterflies. Yes, a garage makeover… nothing like a dirty, dusty, cluttered garage to change your point of view. (Trust me, the story gets better!) My client and I were wrapping up the makeover and performing a final sweep when we both caught a glimpse of a butterfly floating into the garage. It landed on a table right in front of us, begging for attention. Both of us looked at each other as if there was a bigger lesson to be learned here, but then went back to work. I received a text from my client the next day. Included with a picture of a butterfly was the text: Butterflies are a symbol of HOPE! And… there… it… was… the bigger lesson.
From that day on, whenever I see a butterfly, I think… HOPE. The sight of one makes me pause and take in the view; enjoying the background of each butterflies’ dance (I swear they don’t just fly, they dance!). Their symbolism of HOPE is now a beacon of light for me when darkness creeps in. As I further pondered the butterfly symbolism, I found comparisons to my life’s journey. Before I became a believer and follower of Jesus, I was that caterpillar crawling around with my eyes looking down (Do caterpillars even have eyes?). Caterpillars seem to move aimlessly, without purpose or passion… content finding a leaf to nibble on. Once again, I was reminded of myself, wandering aimlessly while looking for the next leaf… not my purpose or passion, but… a leaf!
Just when that caterpillar eats enough leaves, something begins changing within. He stops crawling and starts cocooning. Here is where he stays for a while. He is in meditation mode. The world outside him could be on fire and he is totally unaware. THIS IS HIS HUDDLE! And… there it is… another lesson! As the caterpillar is HUDDLED in his cocoon, he is changing… not just losing an ounce or two… he is experiencing a TOTAL transformation (bring on the Beachbody ads!). In his HUDDLE, his identity is morphing into an entirely new creature… one that will be a polar opposite of his former self.
We can gain a lot from the caterpillar’s HUDDLE experience. Like caterpillars, we humans can crawl from leaf to leaf, accepting life as it is. We tend to look down, content with our surroundings. It’s not until we get into our cocoons (our HUDDLES) that we are able to change our perspectives. Our HUDDLES give us the time needed to pause and search within ourselves, even when the world around us IS on fire. Our HUDDLE time enables us to find what truly matters in our lives… what brings us JOY, what gives us HOPE. When we attain a perspective focused on HOPE, we are able to find our Godly purpose and passions. We find gratitude in the LITTLE things that lead to BIG dreams. We unlock our potential, discover our passions, and determine our purpose. Our HUDDLES are… HUGE HOPE HUNTERS :)
From our HUDDLES, we emerge a new person with a HOPE perspective. We are no longer content with a branch or stem, because we are able to fly! We now see the world’s beauty and infinite possibilities. This viewpoint is filled with infinite desires, infinite dreams, infinite… HOPES. As humans, we differ from the caterpillar in that we can transition in and out of our HUDDLES indefinitely. We don’t just have that ONE butterfly moment… we have INFINITE butterfly moments! Just think about it… anytime we feel our HOPE waning, we can go to a quiet place and HUDDLE for a while. I feel a great sense of peace (and HOPE) knowing that I have butterfly moments just waiting for me to experience out of my HUDDLE time.
Zig Ziglar talks of HOPE: as the engine of your attitude and… your attitude determines your altitude. In other words, HOPE enables you to soar! There are no limits to how high you can fly when you have HOPE as your power source. The sky is the limit when you focus on HOPE. You find HOPE in your HUDDLE moments. HUDDLING is as important as breathing, so take time to find HOPE in your HUDDLE. Your HUDDLE time will inspire you to soar with HOPE. HOPE is the wind beneath your wings.