SermonStudio

"Without a doubt, Julia was a caterpillar! She lived in a bright meadow at the edge of a dark forest. A clear stream meandered through the middle of the meadow. Sometimes Julia would crawl to the stream's edge and peer into the water at her caterpillar face. Sure enough, she looked just like all the other caterpillars. There could be no doubt: Julia was a caterpillar.

"Julia's very best friend was a caterpillar too. His name was Herman. They spent their days playing caterpillar games with their caterpillar friends and eating grass and leaves. Caterpillars have to eat a lot to grow big and strong.

"Julia liked the other caterpillars, and she especially liked Herman. But she didn't like herself very much. You see, Julia didn't want to be a caterpillar; Julia wanted to be a butterfly.

"Sometimes the other caterpillars teased her about that. But Herman never did. In fact, Herman actually believed that one day Julia would be a butterfly. Whenever Herman expressed that opinion, the other caterpillars teased him. Julia didn't believe Herman was right either, but she wished the others wouldn't tease him for saying what he thought.

"Herman, however, ignored their taunts. 'Herman thinks Julia's going to be a butterfly!' they'd chant in a singsong voice. 'Herman believes in dreams!' And, of course, Herman did. In fact, Herman was so sure that Julia would one day be a butterfly that sometimes, just for a moment or two, Julia actually believed it herself.

"One day Julia decided this whole matter deserved more thought. If Herman was so very certain, maybe, just maybe ...

"She decided she could concentrate better if she wrapped herself up in a leaf. But she didn't want to risk falling out. After all, once she started thinking, she just might forget to hold on. So, she spun a few silk threads around the outside of the leaf to hold herself in.

"Then Julia started thinking. She thought about Herman. She thought about the other caterpillars. She thought about herself. She was a caterpillar, and about the only thing she was really good at was eating. That wasn't much to be able to say about yourself. She wanted so badly to fly! But flying required wings and Julia didn't have any wings; she was just a caterpillar. 'If only I could be a butterfly,' she thought with a heavy sigh.

"Rolled snugly in her leaf, Julia thought and thought and thought. She thought for ten whole days! By the time she decided to come out of her leaf, she was feeling dizzy with hunger. But she had decided to like herself just for herself, not for how she looked or what she could do.

"As she struggled out one end of the rolled-up leaf, she noticed that she felt different, as though she had changed somehow. Her back especially felt strange, but she couldn't turn her head far enough around to see it. Hungry as she was, she just had to go look at herself in the stream before she found something to eat.

"Julia climbed down from the branch her leaf was attached to and stalked over to the silvery water. 'That's odd,' she thought. 'My legs seem longer than they used to be.' She assumed the funny feeling in her legs was from lying motionless in the leaf for ten days. But as she reached the stream's edge and peered at her reflection she could hardly believe her eyes! She wasn't looking at a caterpillar. She was looking at a butterfly! There was no doubt about it! Just as Herman had said she would, Julia had become a butterfly!" (At this point I show the children the stained glass butterfly I have brought along.)

"That's why her back had felt so different. She had grown wings! Slowly she spread them, admiring their beautiful bright colors. Being brand-new wings, they were still a bit wet; but spread in the sunlight, they soon dried.

"Suddenly Julia remembered how hungry she was, and as if she had known all her life how to use them, lifted her wings to catch the breeze. From the air she spotted a delicious-looking flower and swooped down, landing lightly on a delicate purple petal. She drank her fill of the flower's nectar. Then, her hunger satisfied, she took off again, realizing her dream really had come true. Julia had wings! Julia could fly! Julia was a butterfly!"

The children have listened with avid attention to this story. Now I suggest to them, "In some ways the church is rather like Julia's leaf and its members are sometimes like Julia, wanting to fly, but not having enough faith in themselves to try. The church is a place where we can discover possibilities, dare to dream dreams, and find people who believe in us even when we don't believe in ourselves. The church is a place where we can be transformed from caterpillars into butterflies.

"Herman had complete faith in Julia. He loved her and encouraged her to believe in herself. And one day she found her wings. Whenever we love and encourage other people, it's as if we can see the butterfly inside of them; love and encouragement help the other people see themselves as beautiful. They might even feel so good about themselves they feel like they could fly!

"Everyone gets discouraged sometimes. But whenever that happens to you, maybe you'll remember this story and think about all the people who love you just as you are, the people who see the butterfly inside of you. And when you begin to believe in yourself, to see yourself as those who love you do, you just might feel as if you could fly -- because you've discovered your wings!"