Mariposa

By Ana Ramirez

Mariposa is a personal testimony of how there is hope even for the most lost person to find forgiveness, acceptance, and redemption. From childhood to adulthood, my life has been filled with domestic violence, alcohol, drugs, and gangs. The road I have traveled has been paved by rejection, selfishness, disobedience, and various forms of heartache and sorrow. The choices I have made led me to live a hard and lonely life. All along the way, Christ accompanied me and never let me go. He has protected me from death and rescued me from a compromised and lukewarm lifestyle. In this story, you will read how nothing is impossible with God. In life, we will face many tests over and over again; we will fail most of these tests. Do not lose hope. Remember that without these tests, there would be no testimony. God is faithful, and His love for us never fails us. Through this never-ending love, I have found peace, joy, and hope. No matter how dark the night has been or how fierce the storms have come, you can be sure that the arms of Christ have held you and will continue to hold you. "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come, the old has gone and the new is here" (Corinthians 5:17). Only by the grace of God can we be transformed from being a lowly worm: struggling to survive on our own strength. Hoping we are not squashed or eaten by a bigger bug. Until one day we realize we must give up and surrender our way of life. Our metamorphosis begins as we die to our flesh. We suddenly wake up from our sleep and break free from the cell that entrapped us. We find that we have been transformed and set free. Given a new identity and wings to fly. No longer a crawling worm but a beautiful mariposa.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Aug 20, 2018
• ISBN: 9781641913928

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Mariposa

Ana Ramirez

Copyright © 2018 Ana Ramirez

All rights reserved

First Edition

Christian Faith Publishing, Inc

Meadville, PA

First originally published by Christian Faith Publishing, Inc 2018

ISBN 978-1-64191-391-1 (Paperback)

ISBN 978-1-64191-392-8 (Digital)

Printed in the United States of America

Often, we find ourselves at the crossroads of life trying to choose the right path to take, hoping that we will choose right, but without being guided, how can we be sure? Sadly, it is too late when we realize that the choices we have made have been the wrong ones.

Making those mistakes can mark and wound us so deeply. We can become blind and for the rest of our lives continue making and choosing the wrong things in life. We step out of the will that our heavenly Father had planned for us. We allow the enemy to come waltzing into our lives, causing despair, chaos, and sorrow. We are left with issues that turn our lives upside down. We have voluntarily stepped out of God’s hedge of protection which He places over us when we accept Him into our hearts. The outcome of that is total devastation. It affects our thinking, our ability to react in a proper manner, and we bypass all our moral values and become selfish beings.

The idea for this book comes from just that, the blindness and selfishness I have lived. It is my testimony. I will disclose those painful memories that have formed the woman I am today. You will read of the great hero who not only saved me but also rescued me from myself. You will come to know the realness of God’s tender mercy, great love, and longsuffering for His children. I will share with you the wrong choices I have made, what led me to make them, and the result that they had in my life.

I pray that as you read my testimony, your eyes will be opened to God’s great love for you, and if you or someone you know are living life as I did, this story will help you know that there is hope. You are not alone the God who created the heavens and the Earth is right by your side. He is waiting patiently for you to turn around and acknowledge Him.

It is too late to turn back and change anything in our past. But be assured that there is much that can be done to make amends. If we can be used to prevent someone from making those same mistakes, then we can have peace in knowing that our suffering was not in vain.

To God be the glory for He has redeemed me from my past. By His forgiveness and never-ending grace, those of us that have found redemption have also been transformed. We are now able to forgive ourselves from having made those wrong choices in life. We can now shout: Who the son sets free is free indeed.

Praise be to God, my heavenly Father, and His only begotten son Jesus Christ and to the Holy Spirit that lives in me. God, through His wisdom, has made a way to instruct us how to live life. The manual of life also known as the Bible. God, through the Holy Spirit, inspired men to write the scriptures that are found in the Holy Bible, giving us His spoken Words.

In John chapter 1 verse 1, we can read the following:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God.

So you see, He has given us His word; in other words, He has given us Himself. Since the foundation of time, our Lord has made Himself known to us. He has wanted us to fully know and understand Him. He has loved us so much that He gave Himself up by dying on the cross on our behalf. He became the Sacrificial Lamb. Only His blood that was shed can redeem us from our past and from our sins.

Jesus died for us not only to pay for our sins but also to grant us His victory over the grave. His sacrifice and resurrection was God’s plan to allow us to triumph over the enemy in the name of Jesus Christ. In this showing His unconditional love for you and me.

In Hebrews chapter 2 verses 5–15, we can read the following:

For it was not to angels that God subjected the World to come, of which we are speaking. It has been testified somewhere,

What is man that you are mindful of him, or the son of man, that you care for him? You made him a little lower than the angels; you have crowned him with glory and honor, putting everything in subjection under his feet.

Now in putting everything in subjection to him, he left nothing outside his control. At present, we do not yet see everything in subjection to him. But we see him for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.

For it is fitting that He, for whom and by whom all things exists, in bringing many sons to glory, should make founder of their salvation perfect through suffering. For him who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one source. That is why he is not ashamed to call them brothers. Saying,

I will tell of your name to my brothers; in the midst of the congregation I will sing your praise.

And again,

Behold, I and the children God has given me.

Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery.

This life He has granted us is a test of sorts for each and every one He has ever created. What will we do with this life? Will we trust Him? Will we have faith and believe in Him or will we deny His existence? Will we be good stewards of His blessings? Will we claim to be self-made men and women who have no need of a God? What will we do with the free will He has given us? If we go astray, will we repent and turn back our hearts to Him? Or will we allow this world to swallow us up instead?

A lot of questions that cloud our judgment, many temptations that draw us away from the truth, so many different opinions on religion. All are part of the smokescreen that the enemy uses to point us in the wrong direction. We are led astray far too easily. If we do not now our Bible and have no discernment, we are lost. The enemy is so wise; remember he is not human, he is a fallen angel full of deceit and pride; a cunning snake! Satan uses enough truth mixed in with his filthy lies to confuse us and makes us stumble.

Each and every one of us has had the opportunity to know God. We are all born with the sense of the existence of God. The creation around us speaks, it screams of His majestic presence. Look at the universe full of stars and planets; the beautiful oceans so abundant in life within them. Let us not forget nature, its variety of plants, trees, and flowers. All the different life forms and varieties in it: insects, mammals, reptiles, etc. It all cries out that someone created it. It did not just happen by chance; we did not evolve from slime or some weird fish. How dare we even think such a thing. How can we not wonder at the sheer complexity of the human body? It shames me to think that in all the thousands of years that the human race has existed, we are still falling for the enemy’s lies.

Every one’s life has played out different according to the choices we have each taken. We see it since the beginning of time with Adam and Eve, with Cain and Abel, and from generation to generation ever since. The choices and outcomes have varied, and in Ecclesiastics, we read that there is nothing new under the sun. Envy, jealousy, greed, and hate have existed since the fall of man.

Humans have been tested for thousands of years. No matter how long, people have yet to learn, and I only know of one who ever got a perfect score; yes, you guessed it. My Lord Jesus Christ. We have His example, and if we would follow the instructions in life’s manual—the Bible—and with His mercy and grace, we could come close. Now, I did say close, but the reality is that only He is perfect because He is God. Without the guidance of the Holy Spirit, it is impossible for us. We will continue to struggle with sin in our life, but with God’s help, we can overcome.

Living in a fallen world and being in the flesh, we have carnal desires and only worry about number one, ourselves, being nothing but selfish, ignorant, and prideful can only leave us living a sorrowful life. We are lost without God in our heart, and we are not His children, but children of a disobedient, self-righteous usurper that has thought he can rob the One and Only true God. You guessed it. I’m referring to our mutual enemy, the one who is described as a roaring lion who seeks to destroy those that belong to God. But those who slander, lie, steal, and are doers of all things that are wicked and wrong belong to him, Satan. My friends, Satan may be described as a roaring lion, but he is a toothless lion and cannot devour you. Do not be fearful of him. Jesus beat him at the cross. If God is for us, who can be against us?

We can read in John chapter 8 verses 47:

He who is of God hears God’s words, therefore you do not hear, because you are not of God.

Also in Romans chapter8 verses 6–8:

For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

You see, my beloved, the only way to ever have God in your life is by having a change of character, heart, and mind. You have to become a Mariposa. Yes, that is the name of this book, and I chose this title for it after thinking real hard. It is Spanish for butterfly. It has a special meaning to me because we all have to go under a metamorphic change in order to become a new creation.

In 2 Corinthians chapter 5 verses 17, we read:

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

Like the butterfly, we first begin life as a caterpillar (or worm in my eyes), crawling around on the ground, living a pitiful life. Life’s full of uncertainty, hoping we do not get eaten by a bigger bug. Trying to survive day to day without being squashed. Just depending on ourselves for that next bite of food and shelter to get us through the night. Looking for safety from the hazards of this world and the cruelty that surrounds us.

Until one day, we simply just give up because the instinct inside us tells us that in order to survive, we must die to our present life. We must trust that gut feeling that tells us that there is something greater. The caterpillar knows when it has to surrender to that instinct, and it simply obeys the laws of nature. Trusting God with all our heart and letting go of what we once thought was living.

A beautiful transformation happens inside the cocoon. The caterpillar dies to its former being and awakens to a new life. It breaks free from its cell and spreads out its wings to be carried off wherever it is guided to go. Let us not forget that it has changed drastically. It no longer looks like a caterpillar, it has now acquired beauty. I bet his old caterpillar friends and other bugs in his neighborhood can no longer recognize it. He will no longer crawl on its belly. He or she will now soar with the wind and make his home among the beautiful flowers that his creator has provided.

Likewise as a new creation in Christ, we break free from the chains that have bound us for so long. Freedom and peace awaits us. A new life granting us a new beginning; our slate is wiped clean. We no longer have to crawl on the ground. We have become royalty as children of the One true King.

We are totally unable to do it on our own; God’s Spirit has to dwell in us, and this can only happen when we allow Jesus to become our personal Lord and Savior. Then and only then can our spirit be empowered by His Holy Spirit to make the change. Fully repenting of what in the flesh we have committed.

In Romans chapter 8 verse 1, we can read:

There is no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.

Praise our precious Lord who died for you and me. He is so beautiful, beloved. I am a living testimony of His mercy and grace. His word is a love letter to us that we must read. How else can one fall more and more in love with the One your heart desires? We are called to be living epistles; in other words, our testimony is a love letter that everyone can read and get to know the love that God has shown each individual.

Beloved, God has given us His promises in His Word. My personal favorite verses are in the book Romans chapter 8 verses 28 and 29, and they say:

And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them that are the called, according to His purpose. For whom He did foreknow, He also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.

God’s Word is beautiful, it gives us life, it transforms our minds, it gives us worth, and it reassures us that God is not our enemy. He has known us