What's in a name?

Howdy! Now that my non-committal self has decided not to abandon this blog altogether due to my exceedingly high expectations for myself, I feel it's time to settle in and get cozy. Pull up a chair, why don't ya, and I'll tell you how I came about the title for this here blog. 


I had a friend mention to me that she was reading my blog and she wondered why I chose bedbugs of all things. She said, "Don't you know those things hurt when they bite?" It made me chuckle, but it actually reinforced my reason for using bedbugs as part of the title. 


Butterflies and bedbugs are like a yin and yang to me (it's merely symbolic though and not religious in any way). Butterflies are one of my favorite things in life. I love their beauty, their fluidity, and the fact that they brighten up this amazing landscape we call Earth. Bedbugs are nasty, creepy, bloodsucking vermin. 


I believe that butterflies and bedbugs can be a metaphor for everything we encounter in life. Our butterflies will be special people, events (marriages, births, etc.), and all the pleasantries of life. Our bedbugs will be all the tragedies of life (death, disorder, financial crisis, etc.). Put these together and you have the story that is human life. 


As a Christian, it is very easy for me to praise the Lord through all the butterflies of my life. How can one not be thankful for a great marriage or the birth of a healthy baby? It's the bedbugs in life that are going to test me. It's being able to praise the Lord through the loss of loved ones, heartache, anger, and disappointment that is going to truly demonstrate my character. This is not easy, by any means, but it is my utmost desire. I strive to find joy in the beauty AND imperfection of life, for I know that trials await me. It is my hope to meet those trials head-on, armed with the Scriptures and the hope of Jesus Christ. I want to have John 16:33 playing on eternal repeat in my head: "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."


Thus, this is the meaning of my blog and my hope for all who read it as well.