We have been patiently waiting for our once tiny caterpillars to become butterflies. First was the daily surprise at how much larger the caterpillars had grown throughout each night. Then, after over a week, came the surprise of a newly formed chrysalis where there had only been caterpillars a mere half hour previously. And then, twenty minutes later, another! Within two days, all six caterpillars were each tucked into their own chrysalis. Then the real wait began as each morning there was no change, no movement, nothing at all to watch or observe. From the outside, it appeared over time that maybe those were the beginnings of wings in there, or maybe not. Had they died? Even if not, the burning anticipation soon waned to boredom and the expectation of any change flickered dim at best. Then yesterday, finally, the first butterfly was “born.” Since that time, two more have broken out and we are waiting on the other three to do so.
When the first one broke out from its chrysalis, we didn’t see it happen. Warren noticed it, about 15 minutes after we had checked last. It was clinging to the webbed side of the holding container and its wings were curled a bit, not moving. It takes some time for the wings to get blood flowing into them to unfurl and harden so that they can be flapped. The butterflies stay still for a good while, over an hour, as their blood flows and their bodies get used to their new reality. And then, the first flutter of their wings – open, shut, open, shut, open. That must feel like the greatest stretch of all time.
For those of you who have never had caterpillars bloom into butterflies in your home, there’s another tidbit involved which is not as readily apparent from simply observing nature. Each butterfly also emerges with some waste resulting from the metamorphosis process, called meconium, and it looks a lot like the butterfly is bleeding for a bit. It’s simply the meconium dripping down the butterfly’s body as it remains still while its blood gets pumping into its wings, and it adjusts to life outside of the chrysalis as a butterfly. That said, it is total visual yuck. [See red patches in photo]
Naturally, when my kids saw the red liquid, they were concerned and asked why there was blood. I explained what was happening, but admittedly, it’s not as pretty as I think most imagine the “breakout” moment of the butterfly. And isn’t that often the case for our own transformations?
Before-and-afters are one of my most favorite things to see, be it via side by side photos or watching a sped-up video of the process – whether it’s interior design, home projects, cleaning videos, make-up tutorials, hairstyle changes, whatever! It’s so satisfying. But, most often, the process itself isn’t quick or smooth. Rather, it’s usually bound to get worse or messier in the process.
When you go through a change, whatever it may be, but especially during a time of growth, there is bound to be some mess when you look around. You will emerge from that time or season a changed person, and when you take the time to assess your surroundings, you will likely see some waste. Some things that need to be shed in order to unfurl your wings and embrace the reality of who you now are. Things that will no longer serve you in your new state. Did you know that the whole caterpillar isn’t even inside the chrysalis? An entire section of its back end doesn’t get included inside and is left hanging there even when the butterfly emerges. It’s just no longer needed as it’s no longer a caterpillar. You are no longer a caterpillar. You have become a butterfly. And the mess is okay. It’s a part of the process. No one said it’s all going to be beautiful. But you are. The Lord created beautiful you with intention and care. The waste has no place in your new life. Let it go.
One of the many questions my son asked me throughout these past few weeks with our caterpillar/chrysalis/butterfly friends was, “Hey, mom. Why doesn’t God make butterflies? Why does He just make caterpillars?”
The question was interesting. The whole process of metamorphosis was designed by God, but in Warren’s mind, God creates the caterpillars and then they are later formed into butterflies through their own growth and change. Of course, this doesn’t happen by choice or of their own volition. The caterpillars are simply living into the natural process which the Lord designed for them, each stage perfect for its needs at that time.
I think it’s easy to think of the caterpillar as lacking, as “less than” metaphorically, as it’s not yet arrived as a butterfly. But the Lord created this process and He made the caterpillars just as they are. He doesn’t expect full grown butterflies to emerge from the eggs. He knows full well that little baby caterpillars are going to break out, and that they will need to do much growth and preparation before undergoing the process of forming a chrysalis and then enduring such incredible change inside. Even once broken out, there is another preparation needed. This new thing is not what it once was. In some ways, yes, but so drastically altered that everyone looking can see the difference. That takes some getting used to. It isn’t immediate, effortless flight for the newly formed butterfly. This, too, takes additional time and preparation and effort.
Caterpillars are in the “not yet” stage is all. It doesn’t mean that they will not someday become butterflies. True, some don’t make it, and much can happen that would prevent a caterpillar from ever taking flight. But the design is such that each caterpillar is formed with the potential to become a butterfly. We are each formed with the potential to take flight for the Lord, whether that looks like the CEO of a company, a pastor, a homemaker, an artist, a writer, a quiet prayer warrior, or simply the kind soul who always takes a moment to check in with others. It doesn’t have to look any one sort of way, but we all have this built-in capacity to become something more, something better than we were before, with the Lord as our guide. And the special part of being human is that we do get to choose. We get to choose whether or not we want to go on that ride.
Getting to know Jesus is the ultimate journey of transformation for each of us. Don’t be discouraged if you’re not where you want to be or where you feel you should be. The Lord’s grace is something which I am convinced we will never fully grasp, but yet, He does not create the caterpillar to remain a caterpillar forever. We will begin to sense that we are missing something, that there is something else we were made for, that surely this cannot be all there is. Indeed, we are made for growth and change and, yes, even transformation. It is a lifelong process for all of us if we are determined to continue in our growth and relationship with our Lord, and will culminate only when we see our Maker face to face, His pure and loving presence removing any remaining waste from our beings as we become fully who we were made to be. Fully holy and wholly His.
I’ll end with an encouraging verse from 2 Corinthians 5:17, in the ESV because I love the way it’s worded in this version: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”
Ephesians 4:22-24,
HLC
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