Last night I went to bed
with setbacks running through my head.
Teardrops on my pillowcase, praying for a brighter day.
Joy comes in the morning. At least that’s what they told me.
They should have left a warning,
That morning ain’t tomorrow.
Because tomorrow is today. And nothing’s really changed.
It looks a lot like yesterday.
Tomorrow is today. Everything’s the same.
It feels a lot like yesterday.
I wrote these lyrics years ago. Life felt a little blah. Although I was pregnant with possibilities and hopeful for my future, I was stuck. I was so starved for meaning and fulfillment that I became spiritually emaciated. I’ve always been a dreamer and optimist. And now this bright-eyed, dreamy optimist was slowly turning into a negative, “life sucks” pessimist.
I was unhappy. I hated my job and my coworkers. I was single, overweight, and chronically tired. The one thing I had going for me, a budding real-estate portfolio, was becoming a bust and fast. I felt underwhelmed, underutilized, and unimportant.
As long as I can remember, I have always had this grandiose vision of what life would be. It is something that I held on to even in the bleakest of circumstances. And now for the first time in my life, my faith in my future plummeted.
No matter what I tried, I couldn’t get unstuck. I couldn’t get that fire back. I couldn’t transform my life the way I most wanted to. The shackles of despair and disappointment had a tight grip on me, and they were getting tighter. This was new to me. I had always been able to wiggle my way free from confining moments in my life. I had always been able to find the air bubble so I could breathe, if only just a little. Yet here I was suffocating.
On the surface I was miserable. I felt tricked and misled by God Himself. I was hurt and faithless. Yet somewhere deep inside I just knew that this couldn’t be all that there was to life. I just couldn’t have reached the pinnacle of my days. I knew that there was something else available to me, and I shouldn’t settle for where I was.
One day I was at the bookstore in the coffee section. I used to go to the bookstore and just read books and take notes. I had embarked on a personal growth journey. I was committed to learning more about myself and the principles of life. Out of the corner of my eye, as I looked up briefly to reflect on something I had just read, I saw it.
It was a coffee mug for sale that said, “Just when the caterpillar thought its world was over, it became a butterfly.” That quote spoke to my soul.
I thought, “Oh my goodness, I think I am becoming a butterfly. My world isn’t over. I have been stuck inside this cocoon, and it’s time for me to break out of it.”
I think that butterflies are such an inspiring example for us. If God created the creepy, crawly caterpillar to transform into the beautiful, adorned butterfly, what does He have in store for you and me? Butterflies are an example that we’re supposed to grow. We’re meant to transform and improve. They show us that there is something else more beautiful in store for us if we are willing to embrace our growth opportunities.
Grab the rest of the introduction and chapters 1 and 2 here –> fromcaterpillarstobutteflies.com/free3