Transformed
Here
I am crawling on the dill,
chowing
down, I'm never still.
I
need to grow fast
then
I will change in a flash.
Do
you see me here
slightly
camouflaged, just peer -
I'm
dressed in black and green stripes
with
yellow and black spots.
Munching,
munching,
munching,
munching.
I'm
quite content to quietly consume
dill
or parsley morning, night, or noon.
I'm
growing bigger every day.
Soon
I will change in a big way.
This
change is only one of my transformations.
Althogether
I'll go through four transitions.
I
started life as a small egg, a tiny yellow dot.
You
won't notice me unless you play hide and seek.
Soon
this change will take place.
I
can't wait to begin this race.
Here
I am wiggling and wiggling,
my
stripes and spots miraculously exchanging.
Wiggling,
wiggling,
wiggling,
wiggling.
Now
I am encased in a brown sack,
which
completely covers me – it's a fact.
This
funny looking sack is known as a chrysalis.
I'm
camouflaged once again in this tan dress.
Another
name for this change is metamorphosis.
I
transformed from a caterpillar to a chrysalis.
In
a few days I will change once again.
This
change will give me beautiful wings.
My
chrysalis will change from opaque to transparent.
It
really is a miracle to watch this change in my appearance.
One
day soon I'll break free and you'll see me fly,
flutter,
and waltz – free – up in the blue, blue sky.
I
hope you get to see this transformation.
I
know you, too, will be filled with exaltation.
Look
for me when you're outside.
I'm
the black swallowtail, see me glide....
as
I dance to my own music
then
stop at a flower for a sip
of
tasty nectar which gives me energy
to
fly, fly, fly up and away. Did you see me?
There
I am dancing in the sky
with
wings that allow be to fly.
I
couldn't do that when I was egg so tiny,
or
a caterpillar or enclosed in a chrysalis, not hardly.
It
was my transformation that gave me wings.
Wings
that allow me to fly free in the wind.
This
transformation was what is best for me.
No
longer bound. I'm free! Im free! I'm free!
Flying,
fluttering,
dancing,
waltzing.
*
* * * *
The
Bible also talks about transformation.
You
could compare your spiritual transformation
to
that of a new-born butterfly,
when
you say goodbye to the old. Bye, bye.
Transformation
involves taking off the old
and
putting on the new, that's a fact we're told.
Like
the butterfly, we need to change from the inside out.
Our
old nature needs to be exchanged, without a doubt.
Would
a butterfly want to go back to being a caterpillar?
Would
you ever want to go back to being a toddler?
Don't
you want to grow and mature, surely,
both
physically and spiritually.
Would
you choose to keep your old nature
when
you are given a choice of a new nature?
Would
you want to stay encased in a chrysalis of fear,
doubt,
disappointment, depression, anger year after year.
God
has provided a new way to live.
The
answer is found in "forgive."
Realize
God's Son offers you forgiveness
then
simply receive this free gift, when you confess.
Forgiveness
is the beginning of a transformed life.
A
life honoring God with a dilemma of choice:
the
old way
vs.
a new way.
Your
lifelong journey now involves putting off the old
way
of living and thinking, that is formed by this world,
then
putting on the new transformed way of life pleasing to God.
This
new way of life begins in the mind and is secured by the heart.
Like
the butterfly, God gives us wings "of faith"
that
allow us to fly free, protected, safe.
Don't
remained cocooned in your old chrysalis.
Shake
it off through prayer. Rise above. Persist.
You
are meant to fly free,
without
worry,
unburdened,
unencumbered.
Spread
your wings of faith today.
Be
transformed in every way.
Let
God replace your old way of thinking.
He'll
direct you on a path worth living.
Do
not conform any longer to the pattern of this world,
but
be transformed by the renewing of your mind.
Romans
12:2
And
we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory,
are
being transformed into his likeness
with
ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord,
who
is the Spirit.
II
Corinthians 3:18
If
anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation;
the
old has gone, the new is come.
II
Corinthians 5:17
Put
off your old self which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires,
to
be made new in the attitude of your minds,
and
to put on the new self created to be like God
in
true righteousness and holiness.
Ephesians
4:23-24
Will
tranform our lowly bodies
so
that they will be like His glorious body.
Philippians
3:21
Life Is a Garden Party
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Editing again this chilly April afternoon. By the time I'm done with all it looks like I'll end up with 10 volumes of Life Is a Garden Party! Working on getting Vol V ready for publication this year. The story above is in Vol IX. It really did happen here. The photos attest to it.