Emerging Moth

I've been going through the book Discerning the Voice of God by Priscilla Shirer for the past two months with some women in my life.

While most of it has not been a totally new revelation or something I'd never heard before, this book just makes so much more sense than everything I have heard before. Priscilla presents it in a way that makes you want to slap yourself on the forehead, but also in a practical way that makes it easier to live out.

Anyway, in this past week's chapter, she shares a story of how there was an emperor moth cocoon that her son had been watching, waiting for the moth to emerge. When the day arrived, they both sat there, watching the moth struggle for quite some time. Her son wanted to help out the moth, but she used it as an opportunity to teach her son the importance of struggling. She tells him, "If it gets out too early, without fighting through, it'll be crippled the rest of its life".

Source

In the light of my personal struggles with infertility, I completely see the importance of the struggle. These past three years have been so up and down with where I've been at in my life...but this past six months have been the best I've had in a long time. Because I've finally struggled my way out of the cocoon I'd built around myself...and I've been able to emerge into the moth I was meant to be...the woman who doesn't allow herself to be held down by a seemingly impossible situation. The woman who fully puts her trust in the Lord and His abilities (at least, in this area. Trust me, I still have plenty of control struggles in other areas of my life).

But, if it weren't for the struggle to get out of that place...if I could have just emerged in a snap of my fingers as a new and beautiful moth...I wouldn't have learned the importance of trusting God and letting go of my own desires and wants.

And, that is just not the way God works. As Priscilla says, "Since our heavenly Father's goal is to help us reach our full spiritual potential as believers in Christ, we too will often be challenged by the things He calls us to do".

So today, I'm choosing to embrace the challenges and struggles God puts in my path. Because while they may be tough at first, the end result is definitely worth it.

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