Unseen

God truly does redeem.

There was one more caterpillar-dwelling pot of milkweed at the garden center, which I eagerly purchased. And as silly as it sounds to make such a big deal about a bug, the Lord is evident in the teeny-tiny details of life and I, for one, enjoy observing the teeny-tiny antics of His creations.

Thus, we have Mabel 2, full name Mabellene, just to be fancy.

This time, I’ve been practicing self-control (a helpful fear-fighting skill, since sometimes “resist[ing] the devil” looks like resisting the desire to act out of terror and deciding to be still in the Lord instead. But I digress.) and I’ve tried my hardest to not interfere with Mabel’s daily life (James 4:7, NIV).

That being said, her instincts—like our thoughts and beliefs—are not without error:

First off, she decided to make her chrysalis on the overhang of a pot, so she ended up hanging a mere inch off the ground. Although this wasn’t safe—due to the risk of rainwater rushing around it or animals picking at it—I didn’t move her delicate chrysalis. However, I did take the pot inside and elevate it, making sure that she’d have plenty of room to safely spread her wings once she emerged from her metamorphosis.

Plus, a few days after she constructed her bright green chrysalis, I noticed that a spider was starting to build a web right in front of it (for whatever reason, bugs really seem to like this white pot of mine). Acting as a faithful butterfly guard, I wasted no time in brushing aside the cob webs and shooing the spider away (this could represent another fear-fighting tactic: rather than letting angst and unbelief accumulate in our hearts and minds, when we discern it starting, we should address it and shoo it away ASAP. But again, I digress).

After a couple more days, the color of her chrysalis shifted to a light, milky-green hue, which got me nervous. Color changes can signal infection or illness, but I didn’t panic. Instead, I simply checked some articles about monarchs, scanned her home to see if anything appeared abnormal, and cleaned out any nearby debris (aka, fallen leaves, dust, crumbs, etc.).

I’m really proud of myself for attending to her without anxiously fixating on her survival, because, at the end of the day, her fate is out of my hands. Which is the perfect segway …

In all of these examples, readers, my hands acted akin to how the Lord’s unseen hands do.

Without Mabel even knowing it, I diligently worked to minimize the opposition against her. Whether this opposition stemmed from her own faulty instincts, or the sheer reality of our broken, predatory, disease-ridden, fallen world, I fought for her in ways she could not fight for herself. Mabel could not see the danger of her chosen dwelling place, but I did. And she couldn’t sense the looming threat, but I could. And she couldn’t eradicate any disease-infested debris, but I was certainly able to. She tried her hardest to keep herself safe and sound—and I’m so proud of her for it—yet where her powers were limited, mine were not.

Now, read over this last paragraph, substituting yourself for Mabel and God for me.

The Lord does this same thing for us, friends, and more often than not, we have no idea how many ways He and His angel armies are protecting us.

So we should thank Him; be forever grateful for all He does with those two mighty, unseen hands of His. Because yes, us developing self-control is important, as well as fighting fear before it festers. But we can’t do any of it without the support of our Maker, Sustainer, and Savior. If it wasn’t for Him, we’d cease to exist, let alone function.

Likewise, if it wasn’t for Him (acting through me), Mabel wouldn’t have made it to adulthood.

She emerged from her chrysalis yesterday, full of beauty and wonder, and if that doesn’t prove that the little details—like practicing self-control when it seems pointless; rebuking fear before it can build up inside you, even though it feels oh-so tedious; and focusing on gratitude when life looks stagnant and bleak—add up, I don’t know what does.

He’s sustaining and supporting and guarding and guiding us, even if we feel like we’re stuck inside a dark, hopeless chrysalis.

Just trust the process—His process—and soon enough, you’ll realize that the darkness you thought was destroying you … was actually forming you into something brand new.

And it’s all thanks to the work of His loving, attentive, unseen hands.