Defying Labels

I was coming into work early this week and a co-worker said, “Did you see the butterfly outside?” Intrigued, I went outside by our back entrance and there was the largest most beautiful insect that I had ever seen with wings that were absolutely stunning. I was in awe because as I am drawing closer to the launch of Butterfly Ministries, I am always in prayer asking God to send signs that I’m on the right path so of course, I interpreted this as confirmation that I was indeed, on the right path.

She was sitting on the concrete not moving at all but I could see why as she appeared very pregnant and ready to lay her eggs. I wasn’t going to let her sit there in her weakened state so that a bird or raccoon could come and devour her and all of the cargo that she was carrying. I came into my office and started calling the zoo and exotic animal hospitals to find out what to do because she appeared that she wasn’t from here but someplace warm.

My co-worker put her in a box and brought her to my office. Everyone was gathering to see her and taking pictures. They were amazed at this beautiful creature with a wing span of over 5 inches long. They kept saying, “What a beautiful butterfly!” Then a few others stepped in and snapped back with a snarky, “It’s not a butterfly, it’s only a moth!”

After hearing that, I was hurt. Moths were plain and only came out at night, we found her early morning and she was anything but plain. My co-worker went on google and found out that she was indeed a moth. It also said that she was very rare and after emerging from her cocoon, she doesn’t eat or leave her tree and only lives for a few days to mate, reproduce and pass on. What was amazing is that it was considered rare to see one of them and to find them in an urban community at daylight. We were blessed just by being able to be in her presence and catching a glimpse of her beauty. We found out that she needed to lay her eggs soon and it suggested that we release her in a maple tree. My co-worker and I took her out to a maple tree and put her on a branch. We looked at one another with a feeling of accomplishment and with big smiles as though we were parents saying good-bye to their child.

That experience made me think. When I heard, “It’s not a butterfly, it’s only a moth” I guess underneath, it felt like it was the enemy trying to get in my mind and spirit. I am writing a book on my transformation from caterpillar to a butterfly and preparing for the launch of Butterfly Ministries. I heard, “You’re not a butterfly, you’re only a moth!

All my life there was someone telling me what I wasn’t or couldn’t be. I was told, I’ll never be successful and that I am just another statistic. I may try to be a butterfly, but I should just face it, I'm merely a moth. Moth's live in darkness, so I should just accept my fate.

Although moths may dwell in the dark they are still attracted to light desiring something brighter than the darkness that they live in.

I guess I could relate to that moth. She was found out of her natural habitat and she was pregnant. Did she not realize the risk that she was taking to fly away while she was carrying her eggs? Maybe before she died, she wanted to fly and see the beauty of the sky and the feel the breeze and the warmth of the sunlight. Maybe she wanted a better tree for her eggs than the tree that she had. Maybe she wanted to prove that she wasn’t just a moth, some label that Science put on her, that she wanted to prove that although she may have been born a moth, she was going to transform into a butterfly.

No one ever became great by accepting man made labels. God created the species and man labeled them. Maybe moths really are butterflies.

If God created you to be a butterfly, don’t accept the label of a moth. You are a beautiful, fearfully and wonderfully made butterfly.

“I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.” Psalm 139:14

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Katrina Green
President
Butterfly Ministries, Inc.

Take a Stand. Spread the Word. Save the Butterflies ♥