Guest Post by Thea Wiersma

Eight of my swallowtail butterflies did not emerge last fall. So I put the chrysalis in the garage and there they spent the cold, long winter. A few weeks ago I took them back inside. Spring was here and I was hoping they would emerge. I had never done this before, had no idea if they survived and would emerge.

The days went by and there was no sign – nothing to indicate that there was life inside. Every morning I would check on them…..except this past Tuesday. The day that consumed all our thoughts and emotions – a day filled with evil and darkness, horror and sadness. The day where a family was plunged into the depths of grief over a senseless murder.

It was late in the afternoon when I finally went into the room where I keep the chrysalis. At first I didn’t see anything, but as I turned away I caught a movement. And I looked closer. A butterfly had emerged! I was so excited…and immediately felt so guilty. Guilty for taking delight in a mere butterfly, guilty that life would go on as before for me, when a wife, daughter, mother, father and sisters had been so brutally robbed of a loved one.

It just didn’t seem right!

I released that butterfly the next day. It sat on my hand for a few moments, as if unsure of what to do. After all, it had spent nine months as a chrysalis and no one had ever taught it how to fly. Then, it fluttered its wings and flew off into the blue sky. It soared higher and higher, until finally, we could no longer see it.

Then it hit me. All those days as a chrysalis had prepared the butterfly for this glorious day! And that is what death means for those who have given their heart to Jesus. For we do not grieve as those who have no hope!

Death is not the end! It’s just a doorway into that glorious place, where we will throw off all our earthly, mortal restrictions, and where we will be free to soar, higher and higher into the very presence of God Himself! Where there will be no more death, or crying, or mourning or pain. A place where we will be complete and whole; free of all hindrances. Where we can sit at the feet of Jesus and ask Him those hundreds of questions that we don’t have answers for here on earth. Rev. 21 has always been, and always will be, my favourite chapter in the Bible. No more darkness, no more night.

Death.

It’s not the end.

It’s the beginning of forever!