Chrysalis Legend
A man found a cocoon of a butterfly.
One day a small opening appeared--
he sat and watched the butterfly for several hours.
It struggled to force its body through the little hole,
then it seemed to stop making any progress.
It appeared as if it had gotten as far as it could
and it could go no further.
​
So the man decided to help the butterfly--
he took a pair of scissors and snipped off
the remaining bit of the cocoon.
The butterfly then emerged easily, BUT,
it had a swollen body and small shriveled wings.
He continued to watch the butterfly.
He expected that, at any moment, the wings would enlarge and the body would contract.
Neither happened!
In fact, the butterfly spent the rest of its life crawling
around with a swollen body and shriveled wings.
It was never able to fly.
​
The man acted with well-intentioned kindness.
But he didn’t understand the consequences.
The restricting cocoon and the struggling required to get
through the tiny opening were nature’s way of forcing fluid
from the body of the butterfly once it achieved its freedom
from the cocoon.
​
Sometimes struggles are exactly what we need in our life.
If nature allowed us to go through life without any
obstacles, it would cripple us.
We would not be as strong as we could have been
and we could never fly.
Have a great day, great life, and struggle a little.
Then fly! -- Nikos Kazantzakis
Christal House
We host our services in a grand historic home, special to Denton history. Our location, originally built in 1906 for the Christal family, boasts the high Victorian Italian villa style. The original owner, James Russell Christal, rose to the rank of cowboy on his great-uncle Burk Burnett’s 6666 Ranch near Wichita Falls. Injuries forced his return to Denton, where he started the Golden Hoof Ranch, a showplace for award-winning sheep and cattle. He also helped establish the North Texas Normal College, now known as the University of North Texas. In 2004, the home was purchased from the Christal family and emerged as Chrysalis, upholding its original heritage.