YOU ARE born to fly!! By Teena Griffin and John Mark Brooks

I have had this butterfly picture for weeks. I knew that it would be given to you eventually, but today is the day I awakened feeling it was time to give it to you! I am slowly learning that when the Holy Spirit prompts me to do something, I do it even when I don't understand why! I also feel I should share with you the importance of the butterfly in my life.

The Change

The butterfly has always been a beautiful creature to me. However, in the last few years (especially the last seven months) I have come to really appreciate the true beauty of the butterfly and it's more than what it is on the outside. The butterfly hasn't always been the beautiful creature that flits and flutters for all of creation to enjoy. It was once a caterpillar that was often overlooked and sometimes even squashed! Many caterpillars never even make it to the butterfly stage! However, some do.

When they begin to go through "the change" it is a dark and painful process. They are literally encompassed in a dark cocoon. Maybe to the caterpillar they think their life is over. Maybe they want to give up. Maybe they think they have no hope. OR maybe they realize they are surrounded by darkness and things have to get better. They don't know what lies around the corner, they just know that it is in their heart not to give up even when it seems they have literally been buried alive. It is in their darkest moments that they realize that God has given them heart to fly. (Even though they don't have a clue what that means.)

Eventually, they begin to emerge from their darkness with a new hope and resolution. It is a difficult process and they are still so weak and frail, but they know what their Creator has created them to do and they refuse to give up hope. Once they have emerged, they are so excited! "I have wings. I can fly. I can do this!" Until they hear that small voice say, "Be patient. It's not time."

Not Time to Fly~ Time to Dry

The butterfly has to go through a drying process. Their wings aren't ready for them to use. Eager to do what they were created to do, they are halted once again by their inability. Again, they have to be patient and wait on their Creator. And finally the time comes!

What the Father Comes to Say

Our Heavenly Father looks at the butterfly and says, "It is time for you to be what you were created to be. The beautiful creature that you have been all along! Now, fly butterfly, fly!"

What an AMAZING story of the butterfly and the Creator! However, the story doesn't end there. The average adult butterfly only lives two weeks and in those two weeks they have to travel thousands of miles when they migrate. But they never stop being the creature they were created to be. They don't lose their focus by worrying about the little time they have left as a beautiful butterfly. They do not stress on the difficulty that they will have in their lives.

 Tattered, but STILL They Fly!

Their wings may become tattered because of another insect or animal preying on them, but STILL THEY FLY! They may fight the winds that blow against them, but they still fly. They do not know from moment to moment what their lives hold; all they do know is their Creator told them, and made them, to fly-- so they fly!

Thank you for taking the time to read the story of the butterfly and why it's important to me. I hope it touches your life as much as it has touched mine! You are loved. GRACIE @HisGraciE

Teena Griffin

~~~~~ Why this story meant so much to me~~~~~

I was broken. My spirit was broken, my heart was broken, I felt abandoned and alone. I couldn't even listen to words of encouragement without crying . . . because I didn't feel I deserved them and because they touched me so deeply. This story, along with looking at the picture, was something I read numerous times because I knew then what I know now-- I was CREATED to fly!!

It doesn't matter how long I was in the cocoon . . . it doesn't matter how long it took for my wings to dry and it certainly doesn't matter how long my life is-- ALL THAT MATTERS is the Creator has told me to fly, so I WILL! The picture and her heart-felt letter both meant the world to me. A dear friend and member of my family, as she is my Dad's, twitter handle @CowboySpirit, fiancee, had taken the time out of her schedule to speak AWESOME, powerful words of life (Proverbs 18:21) into my life and that was not something I took lightly or take lightly as I read this story!

During that dark point in my life, they came over to my house and encouraged me through investing time, energy, effort and love in me through telling me they believed in me and that ultimately I was going to be OK! They helped get me through the tunnel.

See, you can take this to the bank. You can always count on a few things: death, takes, that Jesus loves you and how FAR God can take SMALL acts/steps of obedience. In this case, His words, through Teena, mended my broken heart and spirit. They didn't make everything instantly OK, but they gave me something that had long been missing . . . HOPE. They were the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel. When you are in the tunnel; you feel alone, desperate, not worthy, frustrated, disenchanted, but when you see the light . . . praise God when you see the light, then you have HOPE, you have comfort, you have faith everything is going to be OK!!

Any time, we are obedient and any time we speak words of life, vessels of positivity, into someone else's life . . . we provide that light! What an amazing thought and profound truth-- how great an honor!! So today, help someone else fly-- you may not have known this until now, but helping someone else fly is part of YOUR FLIGHT!

"The quickest way to realize your own dreams is by helping someone else reach their's." @BishopJakes T.D. Jakes