Painted Lady

We are in the process of watching butterflies hatch in our classroom. I am hoping they will be out by the time the bell rings on our last day next week, so the kids will see the end result! Today, we moved them ever so gently (one of our adverbs we are learning about this week) from the cup to the butterfly net. I told my kids to "shhhh" because I was nervous about moving them! I was so afraid that I might hurt or damage what was now the chrysalides. We had already been able to witness the caterpillars eating and growing daily. They got bigger until they were ready to attach themselves to the paper lining on the top of the cup. As they hung upside down by a silk button, it seemed, that right before our eyes they changed from the worm-like creatures to the enclosed cocoons that will be their "home" for 7-10 days. This was actually made by them shedding their skin. Today a child noticed that one of the cocoons was wiggling around,due to whatever changes going on inside of it. I told them how neat it was that we got to see this all take place before our eyes, knowing the transformation that was taking place.

Of course, I immediately thought about the spiritual metamorphosis that occurs in a believer's life at salvation.

Then, these verses also come to mind:

2 Corinthians 5:16-18

¹⁶ So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. ¹⁷ Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come:The old has gone, the new is here! ¹⁸ All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation.

But, let's go beyond that. As I watched that little cocoon wiggle around, I knew that something was happening on the inside. Just a couple of days ago, it had been a creepy, crawly little "worm with legs." Now, it had completely gotten rid of that which made it look worm-ish, and looked different. A change had been made that you could see from the outside. But more than that, there was a enormous change going on in the inside. 
Right there, in that place, I thought of spiritual growth and change that takes place in one's life. Although I could not see what was going on inside that cocoon (it would be pretty cool if we could), it was evident that something was, due to the movement. 
I SO want that to be the case in my life. I want to shed that which makes me "wormy" and allow God to make changes in me. In doing so, others will notice that something is going on inside of me. Not for me, but so that His glory can be revealed in the final transformation.

2 Corinthians 4:16-18

So we’re not giving up. How could we! Even though on the outside it often looks like things are falling apart on us, on the inside, where God is making new life, not a day goes by without his unfolding grace. These hard times are small potatoes compared to the coming good times, the lavish celebration prepared for us. There’s far more here than meets the eye. The things we see now are here today, gone tomorrow. But the things we can’t see now will last forever.

I'm sure more often than not, I look more like the caterpillar- with legs going all over the place trying to get to the next "thing." Inching my way around when I should just get on to what God has told me to do. Caught in the silk, entangled in the things of this world that easily snare.
But I want to be in that cocoon of God's protection and grace, where He is making all things new and beautiful. There I can be changed into that which He fully intends for me to be- a painted lady, colored by the hands of the Master Artist.

Ecclesiastes 3:11He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.