Have you ever thought to yourself that the life change you are trying to make is taking too long? Or maybe the stage that you are in doesn’t look anything like the end goal. Sometimes we look at someone else’s process and wonder why they aren’t changing for the better in a timeframe to our liking.
Transformation is a process. Whether in an individual, an organization, or political entity, change happens in steps that cannot be skipped or hurried. When a friend is grieving a loss or a relation is trying to make better choices, we don’t get to decide if their transformation is too slow or not progressing enough.
I was able to witness a remarkable transformation over the last few weeks that provided some insight to the things that I should or should not say to someone in the process of transformation. The metamorphosis of a butterfly is an easy metaphor for our lives.
The Butterfly Effect
I had the privilege a few weeks ago to find a caterpillar growing on the dill plants in my garden. I’ve taken in caterpillars before and know that the survival rate of larvae is fairly low. Placing the caterpillar on a plant in a safe enclosure gives the larval stage of the butterfly a fighting chance of transforming. In this instance, it was a Swallowtail caterpillar undergoing transformation.
Here are five rules of a butterfly to follow when you see transformation in yourself or in someone close to you.
Rule #1
I cannot tell a caterpillar to fly.
A caterpillar lives about two weeks before going into chrysalis. A caterpillar cannot and does not eat what a butterfly eats. A caterpillar cannot fly or propagate the species. The transformation process must continue before a caterpillar has the ability or even the inclination to behave as a butterfly. Can you imagine a caterpillar stressed because it’s only six days old and hasn’t gone into chrysalis yet, or being hard on itself because it cannot yet fly ?
Rule #2
Because I cannot see or understand how transformation takes place, I must trust the process.
The pupa stage of a caterpillar takes place inside the chrysalis. How did the caterpillar know to attach itself to a plant and cover itself in an outer layer, hiding away from the world until it is ready? How does the soft green outer body turn into wings with bright colors? What happens inside the chrysalis is a mystery unless you are an expert on butterfly metamorphosis.
Imagine a butterfly landing on the chrysalis and saying to the pupa, “Hurry up in there. Why are you in such a mess? Looking at you now, I don’t think you’ll ever be able to fly.” Then, imagine if the pupa grows wings and refuses to leave the chrysalis. The process produces predictable and natural results. Neither I nor the pupa has control over the mysterious and miraculous process.
Rule #3
Even when the transformation is complete, patience is required.
The pupa emerges from the chrysalis after roughly fourteen days. Even then, it will take several hours or even a day, depending on external conditions, for the newly emerged wings to dry and harden. Flight does not take place immediately. Even though you are excitedly waiting to see the butterfly take flight, it cannot fly before it is ready.
Rule #4
Just as a caterpillar cannot be a butterfly without transformation, a butterfly cannot go back to being a caterpillar once the transformation is complete.
The caterpillar was comfortable eating my dill plant. What if the butterfly was afraid to fly and get carried in the wind so it decided that it preferred to live on the half-eaten dill plant? It cannot now live the life of a caterpillar. The butterfly must fly, seek nectar, and propagate his species.
Rule #5
The transformation phases are not a waste of time.
From egg to caterpillar to chrysalis is about two weeks. The chrysalis (pupa) stage is about two weeks. The life span of the butterfly is about two weeks. In six short weeks, the butterfly must accomplish all that it was created to accomplish.
Life is short. The butterfly must get about the business of living. But he has not wasted any of his short life on the transformation phases. Each step in the process was necessary for the transformation to be complete.
The caterpillar is just as valuable and worthy of life as the transformed butterfly. The pupa is as worthy of life and respect as the caterpillar. The butterfly in all of its stages of transformation is equally created by God.
To Sum Up
We are beautifully created by God and in the process of transformation. When we feel like we are wasting our time in an early stage of growth, we have to remember that God’s timing is not our timing. We are not less valued in the eyes of heaven because of where we are (or aren’t) in the transformation process.
In God’s hands, we are perfectly created and wonderfully loved. The world cannot see or understand the process taking place. It is a miracle and a process that should fill us with awe and wonder.
When you see a messy process of transformation in yourself or in others, think of it as a miracle in the making. The glorious God of the universe through Christ Jesus has set into motion a beautiful work that we can barely understand.
You are a treasure in God’s kingdom. Trust the transformation process, be patient, and don’t speak negativity. You can’t imagine the beautiful result that God has planned for you.
And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. 2 Cor 3:18
Copyright @ TA Boland 2024
Images @ T A Boland
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