One day, at a very early age, Katie was born into the Caterpillar family. Her life started as most young caterpillars do. She was wide-eyed and completely innocent. There was no awareness of good or evil; those things would have to wait. She had her whole life to learn of such things. Right then the world about her was so big, wonderful and full of fun. It was all hers to explore and enjoy. Little did she know that a tragic event would take place, and that event would give her life a direction and purpose while on this earth. This is a story of self-preservation and survival until the day this young caterpillar emerged from her cocoon to find that a metamorphosis had taken place.

Mama Caterpillar was a loving and kind mother to Katie. As each of Katie’s sisters came into this world, she would help Mama Caterpillar care for them whenever she could. Katie became very fond of Donna and Laura and loved to teach them the skills of being a caterpillar.

Papa Caterpillar was warm and loving. Katie loved it when he would hold her tight to his chest. The smell of his body, the hardness of his chest and strength in his arms gave her the feeling of being loved and protected. Nothing terrible could happen as long as he was holding her.

Katie spent most of her days playing with her two young sisters, keeping them occupied while Mama did whatever Mama Caterpillars do. Although she was busy with her sisters, she looked forward to her father coming home each day.

Katie started to notice Papa Caterpillar spending more and more time away from home. There were times when he would come home acting and looking different. The man she loved and adored would frighten Katie at times. His moods would change so suddenly—one minute loving, the next, yelling or hitting Katie, her sisters, or Mama Caterpillar. This confused her. She never knew what to expect when Papa Caterpillar was in those moods.

Mama Caterpillar was abused and Katie’s two small sisters, Donna and Laura, were constantly yelled at and beaten for no good reason—whenever Papa Caterpillar was in a bad mood (which seemed to be all the time). Tension, chaos and turmoil reigned supreme in the Caterpillar household for many years.

As Katie became older, she began to comprehend what was going on. She tried to act as peacemaker between the two people she loved most in the world. She’d be beaten, yelled at and tortured by her father when she would try to intervene. The torture hurt, but she felt she couldn’t stand by and see the abuse go on any longer. Despite her efforts, the abuse continued. At times she felt responsible for the abuse because she couldn’t make Papa happy.

For many years, terror, abuse, chaos and fear ruled the household and life of each family member. No matter how hard Katie, single-handedly, tried to “protect” her mother and sisters, Papa’s rantings and ravings would continue. Her efforts were in vain because Papa was much bigger and stronger than her or anyone else in the family.

Suddenly one day, and without warning, life was about to be changed for the Caterpillar family. Katie, Donna and Laura’s lives were to change forever!

After working all day to provide for the family, Papa Caterpillar decided he had earned the right to spend time with the boys. He did this from time-to-time. After leaving “the boys,” Papa returned to his home. Something happened! Papa Caterpillar, maybe because of the amount of alcohol he had consumed, thought Mama Caterpillar was an intruder into his home. A battle ensued, and Papa, being the biggest and strongest, overpowered and ate Mama Caterpillar.

Many hours had passed. Suddenly Papa Caterpillar “snapped out of it”…What he thought was a dream was not a dream. The guilt of what he had done was overwhelming. He couldn’t face his three young daughters or the rest of the world. He found several strands of silk on a leaf outside the house. After weaving them into a rope, he wrapped and knotted one end tightly around his neck, the other to a strong branch in the tree. Without fanfare, he tossed himself over the side of the leaf to his death.

Meanwhile inside the house, Katie began to sense something was wrong. She went to the door, looked down and saw her father’s lifeless body on the ground below. Her thoughts were racing through her mind. “What happened?” she wondered. She rushed down to where her father was lying and tried to arouse him. He didn’t wake up or open his eyes. As Katie sat frozen over her father’s lifeless body, she began to comprehend what had happened. Fear took over and paralyzed her. She felt guilt because she started to sense a feeling of relief when she looked at Papa’s lifeless body on the ground. After a few minutes, Katie was able to pull herself up and call for help. The wait for help seemed to be so long! Katie’s mind was racing uncontrollably as she waited for help to arrive. Her thoughts would jump back and forth into the family history and just as suddenly leap into the future. She was facing the fear of what might happen to her and her sisters now that they were orphaned.

It was a time of confusion and uncertainty for the girls following the death of their mother and father. The adult members of the family thought it would be best to send Katie and her sisters to stay with Gramma and Grampa Caterpillar until it all could be sorted out.

Some time had passed and no other family members showed interest nor seemed to want Katie, Donna and Laura. Gramma and Grampa adopted the girls and began to raise them. Gramma and Grampa were very kind to the girls and treated them as if they were their own children. Katie and her sisters became very comfortable and enjoyed the peace and safety of their new way of life. The girls were in for a real shock!

Papa Caterpillar’s relatives began to talk about how the girls were not being raised properly by Gramma and Grampa. That type of talk started fights and arguments between the adults. Katie and her sisters became confused by it all. It seemed Papa Caterpillar’s relatives were ganging up on the grandparents, and the three young girls became pawns in some sort of adult game. Papa Caterpillar’s relatives scared the girls beyond belief. A war was brewing between Gramma and Grampa and Papa Caterpillar’s relatives. There was nothing that little Katie could do to stop the fighting and bring peace to the family.

During this time of confusion and uncertainty, Katie wrapped herself tightly in a self-made cocoon of her own design. She couldn’t bear any more hurt, so she built it to keep the chaos out of her life. She built the opening so it could shut out the pain and her fear of the outside world and keep her safe. The walls were made to fit snug and hug her tightly during those times that life became intolerable to her.

Katie tried so hard to find love, peace and understanding of the world around her. She found it through a food addiction. Katie found her loved ones couldn’t provide what she was looking for. She found the comfort she sought in the sweet nectar of the leaves around her. She would leave her cocoon long enough to hoard the sweet foods that gave her comfort. She felt secure, and the sweet foods numbed her hurt and pain.

As time passed, Katie and her sisters went their separate ways. Katie no longer had to protect her sisters because they were able to care for themselves now.

Katie remained in the safety of her cocoon, but she became deeply depressed and began a long period of self-abuse…For many years after the death of her parents, she blamed herself for what had happened. Her depression led to self-mutilation, compulsive over eating and multiple suicide attempts.

After many, many years of being sick and tired of being sick and tired, Katie looked to her mentors and teachers for guidance and help.They helped her address what the root of her addiction, self-abuse and depression really was. She was armed with that knowledge, but didn’t do anything with that knowledge for another four years. She was just getting ready for the transformation that was yet to come.

The next four years went by quickly. Katie had been adding to the base of knowledge she acquired from her mentors and teachers the previous four years. She came to the realization that she was worth working hard for. She began to explore life outside her self-made cocoon. She found out that life outside the cocoon wasn’t so bad. She pursued many avenues of healing. She was visited by her guardian angel who had a message for her. The angelic message was “forgiveness is the key!” She heeded the angel’s message and did what it took to envelop her life with forgiveness. She didn’t need the safety of her cocoon any longer. She broke through the cocoon and realized her dream of freedom.

Katie has become the beautiful butterfly she was always destined to become. She is no longer a caterpillar scarred by the guilt and shame of her life. In accepting forgiveness into her life, Katie is soaring to heights she never dreamed possible.

Now Katie, the Angelic Butterfly, has found the peace and freedom her young life lacked. She is so happy, joyous and free. She is now spreading her message of experience, strength, hope and purpose to others in need.

You may think this story has ended…There is no ending, in fact, this is the beginning and Katie, with each passing day, is more empowered and stronger than ever before.

Katie, the Angelic Butterfly, has arrived!

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