The Butterfly

The struggle to become free

If He can do whatever He wants, why doesn’t God just zap my anxieties right now? Why doesn’t He just take away my bingeing habit in an instant? Why is recovery not a quick fix? Have you ever asked similar questions? 

The struggle is real, but the struggle is necessary!

There is a well-known story of a boy who thinks he’s helping a butterfly by snipping its chrysalis. This prompted me to think about recovery.

Consider a butterfly’s emergence from its chrysalis. Once its caterpillar-to-butterfly metamorphosis is complete, it’s ready to free itself from the chrysalis. If like me, you’ve seen an eclosion take place, it can feel cruel to leave the little creature wriggling ferociously in its quest for freedom. A caring creature-lover might be tempted to take a pair of scissors to the tight casing and help the newly transformed bug escape more comfortably – just like the boy in the story – but they would do more harm than good. The battle to emerge from the chrysalis strengthens the butterfly’s wings to enable it to fly. Giving it a ‘helping’ hand could mean the butterfly only becomes a ‘butterwalk’!

When we recognise we’re stuck in unhealthy thinking or behaviour and that we need recovery, we too will have to battle for our freedom: admitting we are struggling to overcome unwanted thinking or behaviour is humbling; believing God’s truths instead of the lies we’ve been telling ourselves takes effort; choosing to submit to God’s way of doing life requires us to let go of the tight grasp on our own will; making new good recovery choices will go against many of our old self-destructive responses to hurts and pressures. 

It’s normal for recovery to be hard work at times but remember, God is with us and just as He uses the butterfly’s struggle for good, He wants to use our struggles to strengthen us! 

“…we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.” Romans 5:3-5 

Here are three things that can help us to keep going through this process and not give up, three things that may help our ‘eclosions’ to go more smoothly.

• Hear or read of others’ recoveries. This brings hope that if God has done it for them, He can do it for you too. (Check out my testimony for a start.)
• Make sure that you’re feeding your mind with God’s truths and not your own or worldly thinking. (Check out the pages on Bible verses and songs.)
• Put people around you who will encourage you, people who have seen Jesus strengthening them and who can share that hope with you. (Talk to someone at church or join a Celebrate Recovery group)

Father, Thank you that You know what You’re doing. Thank you that even in this struggle, You are working for my good. Please help me to keep trusting You, to persevere and find hope. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.