Picture This

(written October 20)

A fat bright green caterpillar with black stripes chomps down fresh dill weed to its hard stem and immediately starts on the next fresh sprig. Swaying slightly as it eats, it methodically works from top to bottom, top to bottom. Its appetite is endless.

At the right time, it fastens itself to an empty stalk with fine silk threads and weaves its cocoon around its fat green body. Then it goes dormant. On the outside no change is apparent; in fact, the cocoon looks dead. But inside, miraculous changes gradually occur, transforming the caterpillar into a butterfly. Again, at the right time, the new creature inside the cocoon begins to wiggle and gradually splits open the cocoon.

After a time of struggle, a black form emerges. Crawling out of the cocoon, it finds a new place to roost upside down. Its wings descend and, over a space of hours, they fill out to their full glory, revealing a black swallowtail butterfly.

How do I know this? My son, Joseph, collected dill worms in his childhood years. Every summer, our house would be full of the smell of fresh dill, the food supply for his caterpillars, each one kept in a quart Mason jar with a special plastic lid that had small holes to allow the worm to breathe. Sometimes he would see the butterfly’s emergence, hold his finger out for it to attach to, and watch as its wings filled out, dried, and grew strong.

Last November, as my daughter, Dana, turned to prayer and journaling to seek out God during my first recurrence of cancer, God answered her with a picture:

I see my mom with butterfly wings and hear, “A transformation is taking place. I know the right time to bring her home, and My provision for you will be abundant when that time comes.”

Then she quoted Psalm 33:20-21.

Our soul waits for the Lord; He is our help and our shield. For our heart rejoices in Him because we trust in His holy name. 

Dana recently shared this journal entry with me. At the time, I was worried about my death—how it would affect my family—and fearful about its timing. Her journal entry was a needed reminder that God has everything under His control. I can trust Him completely for his timing and his mercy.

These verses (Luke 1:46-47a, the opening lines to Mary’s Magnificat) just popped into my mind. I praise God for his great mercies:

“My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior”