A DRAGONFLY LESSON

2 Corinthians 4:7-9

“But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us. We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed.”

I’ve hit quite a few bumps in the road this week that has brought up past hurts and failures. My emotions have been out of control to the point of checking out and distancing myself.  

I have been putting exercise in my daily routine to try to help with depression. I’ve done a lot of thinking even through the children jumping around and talking to me. This morning I felt it is time to let some things go because I’m not just grieving about them, I’m allowing myself to harbor bitterness and it’s causing me to comfort myself in inappropriate ways.

The walk was over and I went to get the clothes off the line and came so close to touching a dragonfly sitting on one of the clothespins. It didn’t flinch. I got up close and peered at its eyes and the intricacy of its wings, it didn’t move. It was as if it was communicating with me: it would nod a little and wave a leg. I kept looking, and all of a sudden I realized that its top wings had been torn. It nodded as if to acknowledge the fact. I spoke, “And you can still fly, even though your wings are torn. You still fly.” As if in answer it picked up and flew in a circle and landed again. I cried.

I know my wings are torn. There’s no denying that, it’s a fact. I can keep complaining about the tears and how I’m stuck without hope of being perfectly whole because no one can change the past. Or I can acknowledge the fact and pick up and fly.

Fly knowing I have torn wings.

Fly with a greater sense of needing balance.

Fly determined that the tears won’t keep me down.

FLY and keep flying knowing my Heavenly Father cares for me.

The verse I quoted came immediately to me as I was studying this beautiful dragonfly. We can’t go through life pushing out negatives and only embracing positives. That’s my nature, I’ve tried doing this as far back as I can remember. I hate hurt, I’m passionate about never putting myself in toxicity. I’m coming to realize that by living like this, I’m unable to show God’s power because I’ve not learned to embrace the struggle. 

Paul acknowledged he was troubled,  perplexed, persecuted and cast down. He could have said, “I’m not distressed, in despair, forsaken or destroyed,” and avoided acknowledging the issues. But he chose to embrace both the negative and the positive. He chose to see the issue and the power that can come out of negative situations. The big message is that we have to go through in order to experience. There’s no way for us to experience the excellency of God’s power until we have gone through the trial, the issue, the negative. Then and only then are we not only embracing the circumstance, but we are living with God’s power and experiencing something so much greater than ourselves. 

The treasure is not in us. The treasure is the excellent power of God that we allow in that creates peace, joy, fulfillment, etc. We can mimic peace, joy, fulfillment, etc. or we can have the real deal. 

God didn’t promise that we wouldn’t be wounded or hurt, but He did promise that He would be with us through it, that He would cause us to soar like eagles. 

It’s not the wounds that keeping me from flying. It’s me that keeping me from flying. I can choose to stay on the ground and never try to fly, or I can be like the dragonfly with the torn wings and pick up and see what happens. God’s promises have never failed anyone, so, if He’s promised that I’ll soar like an eagle, then I need to give it a try.