Transformation – Lessons from a butterfly
From grade school, I learned about the life cycle of the butterfly. From egg to pupa to chrysalis to butterfly. It was explained in such a simple and matter of fact way that it really held no magic or wonder. Then about a year ago, I listened to a radio lab podcast where they described in detail what happens inside the chrysalis. The explanation felt like the re-telling of a miraculous resurrection. This week, the caterpillar to butterfly metaphor was brought back to mind as I was thinking about this season of sheltering at home during Covid-19.
Here are some parallels that came to mind.
The caterpillar eats and eats. Remember the book The Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle? I feel like the caterpillar during quarantine. Eating, and eating and eating.
Next, the caterpillar sheds its outer layer and becomes a chrysalis. As an outside observer, it appears that nothing is happening inside the chrysalis. Similarly, it can feel like nothing is happening during this pregnant pause of waiting we are in. Waiting for a vaccine, waiting for answers, waiting for work, waiting for freedom. What is happening to our attitudes, priorities, and emotions during the waiting?
Just like the caterpillar, we are undergoing a transformation.
It feels like there is a change occurring in me during this time of pause. It’s hard to explain, just as it’s hard to explain what really happens inside that chrysalis. There is a bit of mystery to it all. What we do know is that each step of the life cycle is necessary, and to speed up the process and rip the butterfly from the chrysalis too early will prevent the butterfly from ever being able to fly.
I want more than anything to fly. I want my life to be a testimony of God’s beauty. I want to shed the parts of me that are not necessary anymore and enter a new phase of life. My hope for myself and others is that we will endure this season and emerge from it transformed – like a crawling caterpillar, to a flying butterfly.