BETTY JANE HEWITT Answer the call of the Lord and take flight

A crumpled hole was ripped in the willow-green capsule lying in the bottom of our kitchen sink. Peering into a dirty coffee cup, we spied a soggy curled-up mass; a wet butterfly had emerged from its tomb.
"There must have been a cocoon hidden in the lettuce you brought in from the garden," I said. "I wonder why we didn't notice it."
Picking up the cup, we took the creature outside and placed it in the flower bed beside the house. We watched as the butterfly began to fan its wings, waiting for strength to fly.
The next morning I pushed open the porch door just in time to see an orange and black monarch butterfly flutter skyward.
The butterfly was fulfilling its creator's purpose for its existence, but I am willful and do not always follow God's vision for my life. Just as the butterfly struggles out of its cocoon, I often rage against change, enjoying my comfortable world, afraid to venture forth to become what God wants me to be.
Answering the call
God's butterflies are cause enough for hearts to sing, but once in awhile we are taken by surprise when our young people answer his call to stretch and to soar.
During a church service earlier this year, our congregation commissioned 15 young people who are going forth to the mission field. They would spend a week of their summer vacation in another state working to repair homes and living conditions of the less fortunate.
While we sang the hymn "Amazing Grace," those who wished came forward to the altar for a laying on of hands and anointing of those who choose to leave their snug cocoons to serve the Lord.
This was also high school graduation weekend, and our grandson had received his diploma the day before the service. A butterfly ready to take flight, and a grandmother who longed to know the calling of her Lord.
I went forward and laid my hand on the shoulder of a missionary and felt my grandson's hand on mine.
XBetty Jane Hewitt is a writer and a member of First Congregational Church in Newton Falls.