You Were Beautiful All Along

My spiritual walk has been challenging. Sometimes I feel like I just don’t get it and never will. I see
people who seem so natural in their faith and wonder why it comes so easily for them when it seems so
difficult for me.

If I allow these thoughts to discourage me, I stop and remind myself that I am a work in progress but I
have come a long way. When I think about my journey, I realize that I am so different from who I used to
be. So much so that I no longer recognize my younger self. Although gradual, a transformation has taken
place in my life that has deeply changed the way I think about every aspect of life. That transformation is
the Holy Spirit working in my life.

Change is painful. Change is hard. Change is possible.
I liken this to the metamorphosis from a caterpillar to a butterfly. What did the common, colorless
caterpillar endure to become such a magnificent butterfly?
Maya Angelou captured this powerfully when she said, “We delight in the beauty of the butterfly, but
rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty.”
As I continue this thought, I hear God whispering in my ear, “You were beautiful all along.”

~ Brenda Matthews