BUTTERFLIES!

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Sorry.

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my friends.

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Thanks for joining me on the creative.

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Creative spiritual journey podcast, where

geeky and I share with you the joys we

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discover along this journey of life.

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As we follow our savior.

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Jesus Christ, I and Judy.

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Also known as sister Cooley here in

the Durban, South Africa mission.

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I am your host for this episode.

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Let me first begin by

expressing my gratitude for you.

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My friends.

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This podcast gives me a chance

to be connected to you and a

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space for me to be able to give

expression to the things of my heart.

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.

Hey, did you know, spring has finally arrived here in South

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Africa on this side of the world.

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I love it.

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And beginning to see the signs.

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The burn fields.

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Of grass are now starting to green up.

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And the potted Gerber Daisy on

my French porch, his bloomed.

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And there are pink blossoms

on the peach trees.

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And the ostriches where we go

and run have seven new chicks.

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I've never seen ostrich chicks before.

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They're adorable.

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I can hear the birds and

the crickets singing.

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And I even swatted my first mosquito.

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Opposition and all things, my friend.

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I've always loved the season spring.

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I even took Ghias advice and

walked barefooted out in the field

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where we run with the animals.

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Which means there's lots and

lots of animal droppings.

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I love how energizing it felt

to connect to my mother earth.

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I guess you can call me she who

runs with the wielder beast.

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nature has so much to teach us.

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Just when I thought I couldn't do any

more gloomy freezing days here spring.

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Arrives.

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There is an ancient Chinese philosopher.

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Chung.

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Two.

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I hope I'm saying that.

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Right.

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Who said it best.

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Just when the caterpillar thought the

world was over, it became a butterfly.

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Just think of it.

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Uh, caterpillar.

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Becomes a butterfly.

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I it's just stunning.

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God is fabulous.

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Do you ever wonder if the caterpillar,

while it's inching its way along

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the ground in search of food?

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Looks up at a butterfly and imagines what

it would be like to be a winged insect.

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And fly from flower to flower and

cover more ground in just a moment

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than it ever had in his life.

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And what if being this

caterpillar, it cave up.

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It just is too hard crawling in

this dirt and trying to find food.

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Think of what it would

miss out on that moment.

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It breaks out of its cocoon.

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I have the joy of teaching

arts and crafts to St.

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Anthony's children's center.

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Once a month, I adore these kids.

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We have painted watercolor

cards to give our friends.

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We've cut out snowflakes out of paper.

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now that was fun.

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It was like I was a magician

performing a magic act.

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When I enfolded the paper there,

oohs and AHS were priceless.

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Now this time.

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We painted colorful caterpillars

out of eight cartons.

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I've been saving.

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As I told him the story of how a

caterpillar hatches from an egg.

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Eats and grows And eats and grows fat.

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till one day.

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It wraps herself in a

show called a cocoon.

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Where it rests for weeks before it fights

to break out where it emerges with wings

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and has become a beautiful butterfly.

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Then we twisted pipe cleaners

into beautiful Butterfly rings so

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they could fly around the room.

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They were thrilled.

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This story of a caterpillar, becoming

a butterfly was new to most of them.

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Believe it or not.

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These children here are the most

vulnerable of the vulnerable.

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They come from broken homes

and some are even orphans.

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I often wonder what

their future will bring.

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As children of God, these

precious children have no idea.

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Other divine potential.

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To be winged and fly to

higher and brighter places.

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I'm not even sure how

it will happen for them.

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But this, I do know that we are all

children of a loving and merciful.

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Heavenly father.

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Who created caterpillars?

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That become butterflies.

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Can we even begin to imagine

what he has in store for us,

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his own precious children.

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In first Corinthians chapter

two, verse nine, we read.

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I have not seen nor ear heard.

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Neither has entered into the hearts

of man the things which God has

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prepared for them that love him.

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We can't even comprehend all the

things which God has prepared.

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For us.

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That love him.

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I imagine our heavenly parents

having this big abundance storehouse

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of gifts and blessings that they

are anxious to pour out upon us.

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All that they have.

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But they are wise gods.

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They're wise parents and letting us

grow, learn, struggle, and do the

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heavy lifting to gain the muscles.

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To gain the lessons here in

this life as a caterpillar.

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Because simply we just couldn't

handle that all that they

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have in store for us just yet.

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Uh, metamorphosis needs to take place.

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Just think about it.

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What change will have to take place?

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Within you.

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I think about it.

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What change will have

to take place within me?

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To become as them.

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Oh, man.

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I have a hard time

sometimes just being kind.

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Or even creating a podcast.

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Can you imagine becoming instantly.

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I got us.

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It may be that we can't comprehend

our divine potential just yet.

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It just may be too hard for the moment.

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But it's baby steps.

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It's daily.

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Baby steps.

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May I suggest we simply start?

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By pouring out our hearts to

our heavenly father in prayer,

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in the name of Jesus Christ.

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And then listen.

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The holy spirit will help us see.

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And understand the vision God has for us.

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Remember, We are his beloved children.

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He knows each of us personally,

and has a plan for us.

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He is ready to assist us.

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And our personal efforts and

promises remarkable blessings.

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If we just trust him.

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What if that caterpillar gave

up, because the inching along

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the dirt was just too hard.

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Think of what it would miss out

on this plan called metamorphosis.

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Metamorphosis is defined as a change of

physical form structure or substance,

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especially by supernatural means.

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No supernatural.

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Makes me think of heavenly father.

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Metamorphosis is to have a

striking alteration in appearance,

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character or circumstances.

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I have seen this metamorphosis

take place in people, for example.

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A drug addict.

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In the repentance process

and the recovery process.

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Has gone through a

series of metamorphosis.

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Another definition.

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Is, Uh, typically abrupt development

change in the form or structure of an

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animal such as a butterfly or a frog.

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The most beloved of natures, metamorphosis

is probably the transformation

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of caterpillars into butterflies.

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There is also an ancient myth

that ends in a metamorphosis.

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I was fortunate to see a life-size

marble Sculpture created by

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the Italian artists Bernini.

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Titled apollo and Daphne.

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I saw it at the Borghese gallery in Rome.

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This Sculpture depicts the climax of a

story of Apollo chasing the nymph Daphne.

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She calls on her river godfather for help.

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And he turns her into a Laurel tree.

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To save her life.

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Ah, if you ever get the chance

to visit Rome, this is a must.

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It is beautiful.

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It is stunning.

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There are also natural substances

that also undergo metamorphosis,

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for example, heat and pressure

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over thousands of years may

eventually turn tiny organisms into

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petroleum and coal into diamonds.

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Notice what all these

metamorphosis have in common.

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Change.

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Change that is necessary for progression.

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Change sometimes that is.

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Hard.

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So there's this question that we

ask at the beginning of the 12 step

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addiction program that we teach.

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And it is.

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Are you willing to.

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Give up who you are.

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For who you want to be.

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This process of becoming of changing.

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Much of the time.

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Life is so busy.

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We don't really think about whether

there's any great purpose to it at all.

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Pretty much like Eric Carl's book.

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the very hungry caterpillar and just

eating and inching our way through life.

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Unaware of our potential.

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Just satisfying our hunger.

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Just trying to get through another day.

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Yeah, there seems to be something

inside of us that longs to know.

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Why am I here?

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What is the purpose of this life?

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And maybe can I fly?

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That's what's so cool about being a

missionary and sharing this exciting news

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of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ.

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Because I can declare with certainty

that your life does have purpose.

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And you can know it.

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Put simply you're here

because your father in heaven.

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Gave you that opportunity.

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And you joyfully accepted it.

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Your purpose in this life is to grow.

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To learn about God to

become more like him.

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And one day receive.

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Eternal life with him.

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That storehouse of blessings.

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Just.

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Like the caterpillar.

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To become the butterfly to fulfill

the measure of your creation.

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I have seen what learning And

really coming to an understanding

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of these fabulous truths.

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Can have such a powerful influence

on how we view life's blessings.

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Trials sorrows.

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And Joyce.

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May I invite you to find joy in

the process while here on earth.

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And be the best you, you can be.

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As elder Bednar often says be a good boy.

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Just be a good girl.

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And trust in your savior.

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Jesus Christ.

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His plan to become a butterfly,

so to speak and fly to the

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highest Heights of eternity.

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Don't give up, keep pressing forward.

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My favorite scripture.

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Is in second knee, 5 30, 1 20.

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Wherefore, we must press forward

with a steadfastness in Christ.

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Having a perfect brightness of hope

and a love of God and of all man.

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Wherefore.

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If you shall press forward

feasting upon the words of Christ.

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And in dirt to the end, behold, this at

the father, ye shall have eternal life.

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You shall have wings.

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Well, maybe not literally, but I'm

guessing it's something even better.

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I do.

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I fully testify these things

in the name of Jesus Christ.

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For now my friends keep pressing forward.

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Never give up, look up and

I will see you on the trail.

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And Hey.

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If you have a fellow caterpillar

friend that needs this message

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Of a perfect brightness of hope.

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Please share this message with them.

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No one needs to feel alone on this

journey because after all we're

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just walking each other home.