Sometimes when we are in the middle of wanting something, struggling to achieve it, and seeing no results, we give up. We think, “I’ve done all I could. It just wasn’t meant to be. I’m not good enough.” Etc. So much nonsense, so many excuses, so many reasons to fail, and to give up our dreams. But, I don’t really think that this is what is supposed to happen. I think we are given dreams and goals to make life more interesting, and to help us change and grow into the people God meant for us to be.

The caterpillar starts out as a nasty little thing, sluggish, slow and sometimes very ugly. It then goes through a long dormant period where little seems to happen but where major unseen changes occur. What emerges is usually something very beautiful, something God had planned all along, and something to which the butterfly never agreed to but never resisted. It simply went along with God’s plans for its life. Humans, however, are given a choice, and with that choice comes responsibility for our actions.

Scripture says, “…knock, and it shall be opened to you.” Matt 7:7 KJV.  In related verses the Holy Scriptures talk about asking and receiving, and seeking and finding. What is key here is that we are required to initiate some kind of action, first. Then, God responds to what we have initiated. Unlike the butterfly, whose transformation is part of its genetic code, if we want to transform ourselves, change our lives, accomplish our goals and see our dreams become reality, we must undertake some type of proactive measures to set things in motion.

 Henry David Thoreau knew this. He wrote, “If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them.”  Action! Accomplishing your goals, making your dreams come true, requires action on your part. The butterfly does nothing but let nature take its course and becomes what God has planned for it. God has different plans for humans, it seems, because He requires us to take action, to break open our cocoons and fly into our destinies.  Some of us never fulfill that destiny, but those that want to succeed must take the first step. They must ask, seek and knock.

As William Shakespeare said,  “It is not in the stars to hold our destiny but in ourselves.”  And, God has promised us success if we but simply take the first steps and reach for our goals. He has given us our destiny, planted the dreams, and provided us with the tools to accomplish them.  The caterpillar doesn’t dream of becoming a butterfly. It doesn’t have any goals beyond the next sip of nectar or the next mating call. We, however, can be inspired, motivated and dream.  We have the genetic code built into us that helps us build, create and succeed. All we have to do is set it free.

“What the caterpillar calls the end of the world, the master calls a butterfly.”

Richard Bach