Never Judge a Gift by It's Package

Recently I noticed a cocoon attached to the wall next to the side door where we walk in and out everyday. It was a pretty scary looking creature with spikes all over and it was wiggling. It definitely looked dangerous! I hate to say it, but my first response was to get rid of it. Living at the woods edge and surrounded by pastureland, it's a constant battle to keep the "undesirables" out of my house, so I don't tend to be very compassionate when it comes to creepy crawlers, but I was intrigued by this one and decided to watch it for a few days and see what was going to come out of it.

Over the next few days, it stopped moving and actually got scarier looking and then it happened. Early one morning I found a beautiful butterfly that had just emerged and was sunning itself in those first rays of sunshine.

I was shocked to see that it looked just like a fall leaf. A butterfly that looks like a rusty fall leaf! And hatches in the fall! What an amazing act of God! I continued to watch as it took its first steps and eventually flew off into the world.

This experience was a lovely gift from God to me. Besides being a reminder that He is the creative Creator and the One who gives life, He also taught me a lesson: Just because something initially looks frightening or dangerous, doesn't mean that it is. Sometimes beautiful things come in scary  looking packages.

I believe that God surrounds us with good gifts every day that express His love to us. They are always there. We just have to look.

Here's a Heart Rock (or 2) for your Pocket:

Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above; it comes down from the Father...
James 1:17

If you look for Me wholeheartedly, you will find Me. Jeremiah 29:13

Wishing you Joy,
Elaine

I did some research and found that this butterfly is called a "Question Mark" butterfly because of the white markings on the wing. "?" It lays its eggs in Elm trees, which I have outside my back door, and it has the absolute scariest caterpillar...ever. It's a good thing I didn't find it first.