365 Days in a Year, Yet Change Happens Before Our Eyes

We recently celebrated Addisyn’s very first birthday. What an occasion! She had a candy themed birthday party. It truly was Addisyn’s ONE-derland, complete with a huge mural crafted for her by her great uncle Carlos, candy tables and displays everywhere and the house filled with her friends and family to make precious memories with. Such a blessed day. To think the last year has went by so quickly is almost unfathomable. The night before I put her to bed for the final time as a “baby”, knowing that when she woke in the morning she would be a “toddler” by society’s standards was admittedly both heartbreaking and exciting. She is turning into such a little person, with her own personality and preferences (which she boldly makes known from time to time). She loves to laugh, dance, and smile, and we are in love with just watching her live and love her life. She has since taken her first solo steps, only a few, and still prefers to hold onto one finger of Mom or Dad while walking. To really reflect on all the changes that a newborn goes through during their first year of life is amazing. The human body, mind, and spirit, are all extremely brilliant.

This past Sunday, our pastor preached on a sermon series titled, “Metamorphosis,” he opened by discussing in scientific terms what actually happens during metamorphosis for a butterfly. Coming from a third grade teacher, most of us remember how the egg becomes larva, which then becomes the pupa (think cocoon), and eventually an adult butterfly. As our pastor continued to preach on the topic, he made a statement that stuck with me throughout the sermon and days beyond. He said, “Butterflies were not meant to crawl, they were meant to fly.”

Simple enough right? We all know butterflies do not crawl. But think about the processes that actually get that beautiful butterfly to become the flying masterpiece they are. This statement resonated with me for many reasons. Upon losing my sister 2 1/2 years ago, I began seeing butterflies everywhere. I still often see them, but not like the days, weeks, and months after Mandi went home to be with the Lord. One evening in the aftermath of our grief, sitting on the porch steps of my sisters house, the same Monarch butterfly continued to dance and flit around us before coming to rest on my husband’s forearm. I remember examining the beauty of that butterfly and thinking of the transformation it had been through, a rebirth of sorts from a lowly crawling caterpillar to a beautiful flying butterfly. It seems to fit perfectly of how in death, my sister was transformed. She has left her earthly body in this broken world, to ascend to paradise with our Savior; she has earned her wings, indeed.

What happens to that larva in the pupa? This stage for butterflies is called the Chrysalis, which is coined from the Greek language to denote the golden color found in pupas during this stage. During this process, the caterpillar attaches silk like fibers to it’s body and begins to shed it’s skin and undergo numerous changes before it will emerge a butterfly. This is all done in the safety of the cocoon which is often spun to protect the pupa. What an amazing transformation? Talk about a makeover. To go from not being able to see the tops of blades of grass to being able to soar over the landscape; quite an upgrade. That’s how I often think of my sister. You see, our earthly minds do not understand, cannot imagine the gifts the Lord has for us; we do not understand His plan. When bad things happen, when struggles come our way (even though the Lord says we will face them) we cannot see over the blades of grass to know there is something better ahead. In fact, without Christ, we will never see over those blades of grass. Christ comes in, gathers us up, forms a save place for us, and transforms us in the most brilliant way to become something better, something worthy, something that can soar over the landscape instead of peeking through the grass.

The best part of this is that it’s an instant transformation, that we do not have to earn. We could never earn the riches of salvation in Christ. It is a gift from the Father; even better than  the metallic-gold sheen of the Chrysalis and the finely woven “silk” inside the pupa. I will again use Pastor Eric’s words, “butterflies are not meant to crawl, they are meant to fly.”  What is ever apparent, is how renewed we as Christians are after that metamorphosis and transformation from giving our lives to Christ, and how amazing the richness of the promise of eternal life with Him will be. I guess we can call that our true wonderland.

For more from Pastor Eric Watt check out www.greenbrierchurch.com. Also, please check out the following video about Pray for Them and share it with a friend!  #prayforthem