Trapped!

Written by Betty Weaver

Recently I received a “thinking of you” card in the mail from a dear friend. Beautiful butterflies graced the front cover. I love butterflies and rainbows! The card reminded me of a day I encountered this past summer.

I was painting an outside building situated between two mimosa trees, which were stunning, in full bloom and smelled of a sweet aroma. There were tons of butterflies! As I perched myself up on the ladder painting, I saw several beautiful butterflies flying around within the trees. They are such a beautiful creation of our Heavenly Father. Stopping for a moment just to enjoy the beauty of the butterflies, I saw one on the ground acting very unusual. It was as if it was struggling to get up and fighting to get off the ground. I watched as it kept struggling so I decided get off the ladder and see if I could help.

I thought something must have happened to its wings. I gently picked up the butterfly by the wing and put it in the palm of my hand. It did not try to escape. To my amazement a bee was holding onto the butterfly underneath and was not letting go. I flicked the bee with my finger and it flew away. The butterfly sat in the palm of my hand moving slowly to the end of my finger and resting there before flying away.

As I got back on the ladder and continued to paint I was thinking about that situation with the butterfly that seemed to be trapped. Sometimes we get trapped in our situations…worry, heartache, family problems, health, financial or just all the every day problems that come our way throughout life. I have a lot of those attacks and I can remember that I would question, “Where is God when I need Him? Why am I being attacked with this situation”?  Do you ever feel like you just want God to reach down and rescue you, pick you up and hold you in the palm of His hand? I have certainly been there and felt trapped just like the butterfly. I had to keep my faith and trust in Him. He was and is the only One that can help me with the situations I have faced or will face in my life. It takes great faith to believe that God understands when we are wondering what glory could possibly come from our painful circumstances, especially the death of our loved ones.

A couple of scripture verses come to mind…

1 Peter 4:12 “Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you.” (NIV)

Psalm 73:23 “Yet I am always with you; you hold me by my right hand.” (NIV)

God will use any method to assure us of His love and hold us close to His heart. It could be a song, a smile or kind word from someone, or a Bible verse that comes to mind. It could also be a beautiful card with butterflies on it!

I try to raise my arms and give praise to Him, look into His eyes and say “Hold me Father. I need You…I need You to rescue me.” And He does.  He will mend those beautiful wings, give me Grace and release unending His Mercy so that I can fly again!