The Dragonfly

I find myself in a constant battle; wondering what exactly lays after this so-called life. Is there a world more beautiful and peaceful? If so, where is it? Will we find our loved ones there waiting to greet us? I can only believe that there is. Otherwise, what is the purpose of the life we live today?

I question, just as much as others do, why things happen the way they do. Why does a child have to die from an illness if they haven't even lived life to the fullest? Why do good people tend to be taken from us way too soon? I've come to learn that God has a plan for each of us, much bigger than we can ever imagine or understand. Even though we were to ask Him why, we really don't have the capacity to understand His reasons. It's beyond each and every one of us. We learn to accept instead because we have no other choice.

I struggled with a lot of emotions when my dad and brother passed away. I struggled the most with my brother's death. I still do. He was just too young in my eyes. I felt he left behind the people who loved him the most. We weren't prepared for this even though we knew he struggled and one day, the day would come. But still, we weren't prepared. Knowing now that he may be in a place where there is no pain, just peace, eases some of the pain my family and I feel. It doesn't really get easier, you just learn to live with the pain. And that's the awful truth.

I was given this short story to ease my thoughts shortly after his death. I read it quite often. I still do. Something about it gives me hope... and I hope it does for all of you that have lost a loved one... so, here it is:

The Dragonfly

Once, in a little pond, in the muddy water under the lily pads, there lived a little water beetle in a community of water beetles. They lived a simple and comfortable life in the pond with few disturbances and interruptions.

Once in a while, sadness would come to the community when one of their fellow beetles would climb the stem of a lily pad and would never be seen again. They knew when this happened; their friend was dead, gone forever.

Then, one day, one little water beetle felt an irresistible urge to climb up that stem. However, he was determined that he would not leave forever. He would come back and tell his friends what he had found at the top.

When he reached the top and climbed out of the water onto the surface of the lily pad, he was so tired, and the sun felt so warm, that he decided he must take a nap. As he slept, his body changed and when he woke up, he had turned into a beautiful blue-tailed dragonfly with broad wings and a slender body designed for flying.

So, fly he did! And, as he soared he saw the beauty of a whole new world and a far superior way of life to what he had never known existed.

Then he remembered his beetle friends and how they were thinking by now he was dead. He wanted to go back to tell them, and explain to them that he was now more alive than he had ever been before. His life had been fulfilled rather than ended.

But, his new body would not go down into the water. He could not get back to tell his friends the good news. Then he understood that their time would come, when they, too, would know what he now knew. So, he raised his wings and flew off into his joyous new life!

~Author Unknown~