Love Inside a Chrysalis

Once again, it's been so long since I've written that now I have more to blog about than I have time for!  I've been itching to blog again for a while, but then when I finally sit down to write, I stare at the screen and wonder where I start!  Ha!

Let's start on a mildly cool morning when a blanket of fog settles low to the ground while vibrantly bright fall colors peek over the top of the foggy blanket. A gentle, blue sky feathered with whisps of white clouds give a perfect backdrop to the vivid color of the leaves on the trees, promising a pleasantly warm day to break the cycle of cold ones. This precisely describes my drive to work this morning.  It was a serenely quiet morning while passing the crop fields and uneventful pastures where cows and donkeys grazed and looking out toward the distant stretch of the Blue Ridge Mountains...the symbol of my home.  It was a peaceful morning as I temporarily set aside all anxious thoughts, nestling into the presence of the Lord, being encouraged by the faithful morning radio show on Spirit FM, and excitedly anticipating the joy of a new delight from my Lord:  the emergence of a monarch butterfly from my chrysalis!

Day 5 after it formed a chrysalis

On the morning of Tom's and my 5th anniversary, October 18, 2013, a monarch caterpillar formed its chrysalis to begin a remarkable transformation.  My sister Tiffany surprised me with the chrysalis for my birthday when we saw her the next day.  I can't think of proper words to describe the flood of emotions I felt when she gave it to me, but it was overwhelming.  There went my sensitivity again! A wise man recently told me that I am "sensitive," and that I need to embrace that about myself so that God can use it for His Glory!  Working on it.  :)

Day 5

When I saw the chrysalis, I do remember feeling my heart surge in my chest!  I just about wept for joy at its beauty and knowing what a perfectly designed and delicate life was inside.  How AWESOME God is!  Oh, how He knows what delights my heart and how He continues to bless me with such things!

Day 11 after it formed a chrysalis - see the changes!?  :)

When I came home from work yesterday, I noticed significant changes to inside the semi-translucent chrysalis and excitedly called my sister.  Now, almost 13 days after it formed its chrysalis, it should emerge any time now!  My sister suspects it will be Wednesday morning!  That's tomorrow...or, later today, I should say since it is after midnight!  She taught me how to tell if it's a male or female, how to tag it, what to feed it, and how to hold it once it emerges. The fine detail and intricacies of such life illustrate not only that God is so clearly the Author of Creation but that He delights in me through His Creation!

Day 11

And now, my heart is overwhelmed once more with emotions as I wait anxiously for a beautiful monarch butterfly to emerge from this beautiful chrysalis that I have so lovingly watched for 12 days.  I'm overwhelmed because I'm excited to see the monarch butterfly emerge and hold and feed it, sad that it will need to leave to start its long trip to Mexico, worried that it might not make it all the way there, and overjoyed at having the opportunity to witness something so unique and special!

I took my chrysalis to work today to keep an eye on it since it was possible that it could have emerged today.  I was grateful for the opportunity to share it with some of my coworkers - this is too beautiful of a transformation to not share it with others!  I got a nice laugh when a couple of folks
asked me if I had decorated the chrysalis and after a moment of being baffled by their question, I said, "No, God did!"  :)  I mean, look at it! This thing has GOLD on it!  :)  It's as if God signed His name with love on the chrysalis and inside the chrysalis, it's as if He left His promises and the hope and love that are in Him in which we can be secure.  

One of my coworkers was having a difficult day for health reasons and seemed genuinely grateful that she was able to share in the excitement of the chrysalis - it cheered her up a bit - and this, too, overwhelmed me with emotion as I realized God was delighting her heart with it too.  :) 

"For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities--his eternal power and divine nature--have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse." -Romans 1:20.  Psalm 139 is one of my favorite Psalms and always reminds me just how intimately the Lord knows us and how great is His love for us...how much richer are our lives when we seek His face!

I hope to blog again soon (hopefully tomorrow) about some of the other things on my heart, but this is part 1. :)   God bless you and good night!