When it's time to spread your wings and…trust

I have wanted to post here for some time, however, I have been hard at work cleaning, purging and painting my house (things I had been putting off while writing my manuscript; things I now can’t stop doing as I wait to hear if its been accepted!) Yet, God provided (as He always does) by literally dropping a post in my inbox 😉 
Today’s post was written by one of my best friends, who also happens to be my aunt. Her name is Judy and she is amazing! I would need an entire post to properly introduce her to you, but here are the highlights: 
– She’s incredibly generous  
– She loves Southern Gospel, Jimmy Buffet, country music and 60’s rock. 
– She’s the youngest of 4 (and the only girl…which meant she often volunteered her dolls to    be used as target practice just so she could play with her brothers!) 
– She loves Jesus, and a good glass of wine!
– And on August 7th, 2003 she was hit (indirectly) by lightening and survived! (ironically the  strike occurred just days after she prayed and asked God to put a spark in her for Him and  set her heart of fire once again for Him…careful what you pray for!!)
Oh, and she LOVES butterflies! So much so that my daughter has nicknamed her the “butterfly queen.” And so….here is today’s post, written by Aunt Judy: 
THE BUTTERFLY AND GOD
For those of you who don’t know me, I love dolphins, pelicans and butterflies.  Even though I would love to raise dolphins and pelicans, I can’t, so I raise butterflies.
To keep the butterflies from being a meal for the many lizards around here, I keep them in a mesh cage with plenty of milkweed.

They spend their days and nights eating and sleeping.  So, from the time I take the small caterpillars off the plants outside, bring them into the safety of the mesh cage, the only thing I need to do is make sure they have plenty of milkweed.  And, boy do they eat a lot of milkweed.

Once they reach their full size at the caterpillar stage, they begin a journey up the side of the cage.  This is where they change into a chrysalis.  They go from a black and orange caterpillar to a pretty green chrysalis with a gold band around the top.

Anyone who says there is no God has never watched the life of a  butterfly.  Back to my original thought — They stay this pretty green for a week or so and then turn black.  In the next day or two, the miracle happens and this beautiful monarch butterfly emerges.

I tell you all this to paint a picture of what happened next.  When the butterfly is ready to be released, I will reach inside the cage and this beautiful creature will crawl onto my finger.  I will then move him or her out of the cage and watch it fly away.
Two days ago the butterfly was ready to be released.  He crawled onto my finger and as I was removing him, he flew off and went back to the side of the cage.  This happened two more times.  Then he grabbed hold of my finger and let me remove him to the freedom he was really wanting.

Right then it occurred to me.  How many times are we just like this butterfly?  How many times does God reach down to us, to remove us from our cage and we let go of His hand and “fly” back to the side of our mesh cage?  I had such a feeling that God was telling me to let go and take hold of His hand.
My prayer is that when I feel a change in my “mesh cage” that I will reach out and hold on to God’s hand.  I hope and pray that you too will let go of your mesh cage.

Love you,
Judy