Laid to Rest

There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works all in all. But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all: for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills. For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ. (1 Corinthians 12:4-12, NKJV)

Tonight is a sad night at our home. Sparrow, our beloved butterfly is going home to be with Jesus. As Mike and I console our little girls (and one another) during our loss, I have to share with you the most amazing lesson God taught me through the life of this sweet little butterfly.

To understand Sparrow's background, please read the previous blogpost entitled, "Sparrow, Our Little Butterfly", dated Saturday, January 4, 2014. 

Sparrow didn’t live the full life that all the other butterflies we observed during this project. Initially Sparrow had wings only on one side. Sometimes it was very difficult to watch him struggle. He was very strong at times, but grew tired and weary from not having full use of his body. We helplessly watched Sparrow as he tried to fly but could not take flight without full use of his wings. He fluttered about in his habitat, trying so hard to be all God created him to be, but couldn’t fully function in all his glory with only half his wings. The constant pressure of dragging his body around began to break his thorax down until he was left with only two legs. Continually dragging his body around caused the rest of his body to become very fragile. His wing began to lose it’s vibrant colors as we slowly watched them go from brilliant orange to dull and lose it’s sheen. 

As I observed Sparrow during his short stay with us, the importance of the body of Christ kept coming to my remembrance. Have you ever seen churches unable to live the full life that God intended? It is very difficult to watch that struggle. Those churches can be so strong at times, but can become tired and weary from not having full use of it’s “body". Committed members of those church bodies helplessly watch as they try to “fly" but can’t "take flight" without full use of it’s wings (members). Those churches flutter about, trying so hard to be all God created them to be, but cannot fully function in all it's glory with only half it’s wings (members). The constant pressure of half a church body can begin to break it’s body down until it is left with only two “legs". Continually dragging half a church body around will cause a body to become very fragile, losing it’s vibrant colors as we are left to watch a church go from brilliant to dull and lose it’s sheen. 

As born again believers, we are all gifted for His glory and now is a great time to:

• Pray and ask God to show us our place in His body. (Matthew 7:7 & John 14:14) 
• Commit or recommit to our place working heartily unto Him. (Proverbs 16:3, 1 Corinthians 10:31, Colossians 3:23, & )
• Never, ever, ever, give up our place. (Galatians 6:9)

Good bye sweet Sparrow, you will never be forgotten.

Sparrow, Our Little Butterfly

Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows. (Matthew 10:29-31, NKJV)

My girls and I have been observing, researching, and documenting monarch butterflies for a homeschool project. One of my girlfriends was kind enough to share some caterpillars from her backyard. We brought them home, set up a very cool habitat, and watched our caterpillars eat and eat and grow and grow. They ate so much it seemed they nearly doubled in size every day. (John 6:35) Then, one by one, they formed their chrysalis and it was beautiful. The outside was green with gold dots all the way around the top. They looked like tiny little space ships. Each chrysalis was attached to a leaf or stick by one very delicate looking tiny string. It has been quite an amazing transformation to watch. 

We learned once the chrysalis becomes transparent the butterfly soon emerges leaving it’s dead, empty shell behind as it had become a beautiful new creature! (2 Corinthians 5:17)

During this project, of course, my “blog postiness tendencies” screamed at all the bible studies that kept spinning through my heart! I kept waiting for “the" lesson straight from Heaven.

Early Thursday morning, our last butterfly was due to break free from it’s chrysalis. We knew the time was at hand because the chrysalis was clear and we could partially see the butterfly's wings inside. But for some reason, our last butterfly did not develop correctly and was not able to completely break free from the chrysalis. Once we saw there was a problem, my girls got very upset and starting saying things like, “Oh something is terribly wrong!”, “He is going to die!”, “He can’t make it out!" and “He’s so tired from all the pressure of trying to break free."

I said, “You can choose life, or you can choose death. If I were you, I’d speak life.” (Deuteronomy 30:19, Psalm 118:17, Proverbs 18:21)

Immediately they began cheering the butterfly on. For over half hour, they repeated, “You will live! You will not die! You are strong! Come on little butterfly, you can live!" Once their decision was made to speak life, they never wavered. (Deuteronomy 30:19, Psalm 188:17, James 1:6)

Every few minutes, he got tired of fighting and it appeared the little butterfly gave up. After monitoring him for several hours, we learned during this process he wasn’t giving up at all. He was resting. (Isaiah 40:31) The butterfly hung with one wing still attached to the chrysalis as the weight of most of his body (which was free) pulled in the opposite direction. (Romans 7:15, 2 Corinthians 10:3-5, James 5:16) Just when it appeared all was lost, he’d come alive and fight as hard as he could to break free. The butterfly repeated this process for approximately five hours. He was able to get his left wings and body out of the chrysalis in less than five minutes but the wings on his right side never broke free. The wings on his right side had dried to the chrysalis. What had protected and nurtured him for a season, now bound him and restrained him from becoming everything he was created to be. (Ecclesiastes 3:1, Colossians 1:16) As hard as he tried, he could not break free alone. 

Late Thursday night, my girls decided to take matters into their own hands. They couldn’t stand watching the butterfly struggle any longer. They were confident if they removed the butterfly from the chrysalis, he would live, even though it meant losing two of his wings. My girls decided, a living “half butterfly” was a better alternative than a whole dead butterfly. They, as gently as possible (given we didn’t have any butterfly anesthetic readily available) cut the butterfly free from it’s chrysalis where his wings attached to his body. 

Not only did the butterfly survive it’s “surgery”, he started to eat right away and my girls decided to name him, Sparrow!

Today is Saturday. Sparrow began his struggle to break free on Thursday. Sparrow survived the ordeal and is alive today but doesn’t have the two wings that dried to and never broke free from the chrysalis. All outside appearances tell us Sparrow is half a butterfly. He isn’t exactly what we thought he would be when this whole process began but he seems happy and content to be who he is in his new habitat. My girls carry him everywhere in his little house made special just for him, feed him fresh fruit, have introduced him to everyone in our neighborhood, and continue to tell what the LORD has done. (Luke 8:39)

Have you ever:

• Had something go terribly wrong?
• Felt as if you were dying?
• Thought you’d never make it out?
• Grown tired from all the pressure?
• Felt like “half a butterfly”? 
• Struggled to get free of something or someone trying to hold you “captive"?
• Felt like you had been cut in half?

Outside appearances can lead us to believe something completely different than what is going on in someone’s inside. If this is you, I have a good report for you today! Your life may not be exactly what you thought it would be, but you can be happy and content beyond anything you can think of or ask for, leaving you to tell the wonderful goodness of God! (Ephesians 3:20-21) You can overcome by the word of your testimony and the Blood of the Lamb! (Revelations 12:11)

If any of the above describes you, please email us at keytovblog@gmail.com or connect with us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/keytovblog, we want to pray with you and refer you to help if necessary.

Father, in the name of Jesus, thank You when Jesus is our portion, a constant friend is He! His eye is on the sparrow, and we know He watches over us! ( Lyrics, His Eye is on the Sparrow)