A Valuable Lesson A Moth Taught Me

I am not a fan of insects, especially those that fly around when you least expect it and give you a rush of adrenaline as it whizzes by you quickly, trying to figure what it was and hopefully will not sting you. But there was one insect, a moth, that did frighten me for a moment, with its fluttering, fast wings, haphazardly flying where it wanted to go. I would see it in the rooms of the apartment we were staying in, minding its business and I too left it alone, no longer having a fear of it. But one day I was sweeping my floor and there it was, lying down, dried up, dead. I thought to myself, it could not eat or drink, probably starved itself to death. But then, another thought came up: It entered into a situation with no ill tended consequences, just flew in and maybe thought it would fly out again, but it did not. Trapped.

How many times have you got yourself into a situation, like a friendship, a relationship or perhaps a job, with good intentions or maybe just curious intentions, like our friend the moth, but in the end, it was not what you thought and you felt trapped? Like the moth, it (I assume it was either a boy or girl, I do not know the difference), just came into the apartment, fluttering around, checking things out and then wanting to leave, but could not escape.

Sometimes things in your life are going well, when all of a sudden a change comes, a change that was not expected, but came regardless. Especially if it is a hard change, like a serious or life threatening health problem, a bad relationship with a controlling partner, or something else, it can be hard to escape from and it could leave you wondering what to do? Do you feel trapped?

When you feel you are cornered and do not know what to do, or even to escape, maybe it is a time to reach out to God and ask what He wants you to do. I recently had a serious health scare where I was visiting doctors to get a diagnosis, a diagnosis I had much fear of and did not want. I asked God why me, like probably most of us do, but then again, why NOT me? I am not special. Just an ordinary gal trying to stay healthy even before the health scare and live as simply as possible. I wanted to escape the situation, to go back in time and try to change whatever it was that may have caused my current problem. But again, during prayers and spending a lot of time with God, I felt a peace, a peace I could never have felt with Him. I knew with God on my side things would be okay, even with a scary diagnosis. I was drawing close to God during this crisis and I think that is what God wants: for you to depend on Him wholly. Not that He wants to give you problems or a scary diagnosis in your life, but He wants you to rely on Him through the good and the bad.

And you know what?

The scary diagnosis was not what I thought is was and eventually I will be okay. I am very thankful that God was with me during my doctor appointments and the pain I suffered. I am better, but not totally healed. I know that God is with me and I am incredibly thankful to God for holding my hand. I feel that God is walking with me through this, not having me escape as I draw close to Him and rely on Him.

So if you are going through a scary or unwanted situation dear friend, please reach out to God. You may not be healed or maybe the situation will not be remedied right away, but He is a good God and will help you in your situation. It may look different for you then to someone else, but in time, things will be right where they need to be with God on your side.

Now back to the moth. I did feel sorry for the moth as it got into a “dangerous” situation, trapped in our home and was not able to find its escape or a way out. But for us, God is the way. Sometimes we may not be able to escape our problems, but we have a God that wants us to depend on Him, acknowledge Him and spend time with Him. A moth taught me there is a way to escape, but not always out of a problem, but into God’s arms.