Butterflies
I love Nature and all that it displays when we watch God’s creation created. I have taken a liking to the process of butterflies and how they fully grow into a creature that has a full set of delicate wings. Butterflies can be difficult to protect as well as catch. During our time in Okinawa, we had the opportunity to visit a place called Butterfly Park. Butterfly Park was a place where all butterflies live and where they grow and entertain visitors. Everywhere we stepped, in certain areas was filled with swarms of butterflies. What I loved most was their ability to be drawn to reds. What I wanted to share in today’s blog was the process of a butterfly and the cocoons. I don’t know what God has in store for your life, but I do believe that the Lord orders the steps of the righteous and He knew you and predestined the season you are currently experiencing.

Background

The Process

There are four stages that a butterfly must go through to become a full-grown butterfly. Eggs, Caterpillar, Pupa, and Adult. These stages are necessary for its full growth and development. Butterflies and moths develop through the process of “Metamorphosis,” which translates in Greek to Transformation or change in Eggs shape. “Each stage has a different goal – for instance, caterpillars need to eat a lot, and adults need to reproduce. Depending on the type of butterfly, the life cycle of a butterfly may take anywhere from one month to a whole year.” (Learn about Nature Article 2018) It is incredible to discover that it can take one year for a butterfly to develop. I know for me that some processes in my own life are complicated because I am so impatient and want to blossom overnight.

Stage 1: The Eggs

This phase is self-explanatory. As butterflies made eggs and lay them on leaves, this begins the process of growth. If you look closely, you can see the tiny Caterpillar inside of the eggs. Because of the size, it is hard to spot them on the leaves. Also, the shapes of the eggs depend on the type of butterfly it is. It takes between 3-5 days for an egg to hatch into baby caterpillars or larvae, which is its next phase. A butterfly can lay between 100-300 eggs at a time.

Stage 2: The Caterpillar (Larvae)

This phase is probably the most dangerous because, in its immature state, the caterpillars can eat through crops. Joel 2:25 says I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten, the great locust, the grasshopper, and the Caterpillar, my great army, which I sent among you. The Hebrew definition of a Caterpillar translates into easily or “Ravage,” which means to damage or have a destructive effect on something. When crops get destroyed, the good of any land can be as well. In life, I believe that God never intends on His creation to stay in a Caterpillar state. Anything that is in God’s presence must grow and must take the form and progression He intended.

Stage 3: Pupa (Chrysilis)

The Pupa is the third stage that is created by a caterpillar. This phase is also known as a resting phase. It was so intriguing to find that caterpillars made and wove their cocoon. In these cocoons, caterpillars use bits of woody material held together by silk strands or woven entirely of silk. According to the Encyclopedia, “The Pupa is a resting stage in which the insect becomes an adult. It does not feed or increase in size, and typically it is outwardly inactive and covered by a hard integument.” (Encyclopedia 2019) A cocoon-like a soup of proteins that morph into the body parts of a butterfly. Looking at the videos below, you can see the process and how this happens. The most important part about the cocoon is that it serves as the butterflies personal gym to strengthen its wings so that when its time to fly, it will be strong enough not to get caught. The video below depicts this wrestle towards the end. You can see how the Caterpillar is fighting within the cocoon it created to cover itself up and stay hidden for the final growth phase to adulthood.

Stage 4: Adulting

The final phase is what this butterfly is meant to be. It is made to reach a full-grown adult and fly away finally. When the butterfly first emerges from the chrysalis, both of the wings are going to be soft and folded against its body. The wings are delicate and folded because the butterfly has to fit its new parts inside of the Pupa. (Butterfly Life 2018). Adult As soon as the butterfly has rested after coming out of the chrysalis, it will pump blood into the wings to get them working and flapping – then they get to fly. Usually, within a three or four-hour period, the butterfly will master flying and will search for a mate to reproduce. This is the part of life that God looks loves.

Conversation

Have you ever felt as though your life was in a hidden state? What have you experienced that you felt as though you had to hide? I encourage you to consider the butterfly effect. That your life is not your own and you are changing every single day!!. Consider your being born and growing into a Larvae. Looking at this process, we learned that Larvae was a critical stage to experience. This stage is the most destructive because the Caterpillar can destroy crops. Think about the things in your active life that due to not being mature or fully grown, you may have damaged unknowingly. As you matured past this stage, you realized that it was time to grow. 1 Corinthians 13:11 said When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things. Consider the process we go through and how some of us fight the natural process of growth and maturation. This doesn’t mean that we can’t have fun; however, it does mean understanding the times you are experiencing. The Larvae phase for anyone is dangerous because when this season is up some individuals have no sustenance because they have eaten all of the crops and now they take what they have eaten and hide in it.

Looking Deeper

Have you ever felt as though you are hidden? Have you ever felt as though something in your life was causing you to disappear or hideout? Let me encourage those of you experiencing this. You may be in the Pupa stage of your walk. This is the season of rest just for you. Even though you may have created this hiding place because you have eaten all of the crops that you should have benefited from, God is giving you a time of rest so that you can finally grow. Sometimes you have to hide to become. Sometimes God wants you to cover yourself so that you aren’t eaten or damaged before you get your wings. Sometimes God doesn’t mean for you to feel so overlooked, but He actually wants to protect you. And dear friends while you are in your cocoon a while keep fighting the envelope because it’s part of Gods design so your wings will be strengthened. Even as people watch with stares and a grin as you wrestle with God’s cocoon remember that you have a purpose and it is not to stay in a Pupa state. Your mission is not even to stay in the cocoon!!! Some people will go into hiding and die there because they never discerned the times have changed and that growth has taken place. Your purpose is to be the winged gift and be free. In closing, don’t allow your cocoon to become your casket.

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