Finding God's Presence ~ The Chrysalis

by Nan Jones  @NanJonesAuthor

The iridescent green of the chrysalis embellished the classroom's butterfly cage with grace. Waiting was hard. Anticipation of the miracle grew in our hearts.

The children's fascination and delight had filled our days with excitement as we watched the caterpillar eat and grow, and eat and grow some more. Now its chrysalis hung quietly. To the child's eye it...Just. Hung. There. The children couldn't understand that the miracle was out of view. They didn't understand that God's miracle was a process.

Weeks later the monarch butterfly emerged. It was weak from the struggle to escape its prison. Wings were damp from its encasing. Legs wobbly. It appeared to lack all confidence that it could fly. We watched it rest on the branches in the cage. Occasionally, the butterfly tried to flutter, checking its strength, checking its development after escaping the chrysalis prison. If she tried to fly too soon it could be disastrous. She might fall. She might fail. Waiting on her Creator's timing became essential.

So she waited. 

She fluttered. 

She waited. 

And then she took flight.

But what happened in the chrysalis, the chamber of metamorphosis? What took place to transform a caterpillar into a butterfly?

Indeed, what takes place when the Lord has us in a season of transition, when He places us in that chrysalis chamber where metamorphosis takes place so that His child can take flight?

In the chrysalis, complete decomposition of self occurs. The caterpillar melts away leaving a rich creative medium from which the butterfly will emerge. 

But it takes time.

I'm also learning about decomposition of self. My chrysalis isn't iridescent green. Its actually rather freckled, but it encases me just the same. I lay dormant. Quiet. Waiting for the miracle. Self decomposing stinks. Doing away with the old to embrace the new is daunting at best. Especially when there are so many spectators watching and waiting to see if the miracle comes.

But it will come. Just as surely as our classroom monarch took flight, I too will take flight once again. I'm still decomposing, but rest assured, my God is with me and I will take flight again.

I wish the same for you, my friend. 

"Behold, I will do a new thing, 

now it shall spring forth; 

Shall you not know it? 

I will even make a road in the wilderness 

and rivers in the desert." 

~ Isaiah 43:19

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A Tweetable to Encourage Others

Where is God while I wait? @NanJonesAuthor shares THE CHRYSALIS. (Click to Tweet)



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