Tuesday 24 March 2020

Butterflies and COVID-19






Spring is the start of many new things, we see new life springing up out of the ground, trees coming back to life, and new life being born in farmer’s fields.


Two years ago, in Spring, I was able to witness first-hand the life cycle of a butterfly.  I received some caterpillars by post (intentionally might I add!), as part of a kit from a company called Insect Lore. When they arrived, they were only a couple of millimetres long but as they ate the food that came with them, their size increased until they were almost one hundred times their starting size. 

When the time was right, they climbed to the top of the pot and a complete transformation took place, when they formed into chrysalides. A couple of weeks later they emerged from their chrysalides and turned into butterflies.


I was then able to release them into the garden. It was glorious to see something so small and seemingly insignificant turned into a beautiful butterfly. It got me thinking that the little, insignificant things we do in life can often have a huge effect on those around us and we might not even realise. Every action that we do then, must be done with love and care, as if we were doing it for our maker – “for whatever you did for the least of these, you did for me” (Matthew 25). What are we going to do differently in this time of self isolation because of COVID-19; with more love and more of Jesus in our lives, as we travel onwards through this time of new beginnings?

There is also an element of waiting and patience involved in waiting for caterpillars to grow large enough to transform into chrysalides, then hatch into butterflies. Those who know me will realise that I am not the most patient person, so there was constant checking of the habitat and wondering why it wasn’t time yet. I could barely contain my excitement when the first butterfly emerged, it was a glorious moment. How many times are we left waiting? I’m sure there are different kinds of waiting for different kinds of circumstances, from the excited expectation of a child waiting for Christmas to a mother waiting for her child to come home from tour in the Armed Forces, or indeed waiting for things to change, an illness to get better, or waiting for a new beginning like the birth of a baby. God is there with us in all of our waiting. Let us know the peace and love of Christ as we move forward in all aspects of our lives.

There is also sometimes an element of disappointment. Nature isn’t always perfect, as I found out with the last 2 chrysalides. One of them didn’t hatch at all, and the last one to hatch was hatched with broken wings and he couldn’t fly. We tried our best to make the best of the situation, Mark built him a little habitat so he could enjoy being outside but still be safe as he kept wandering in to the road of all places! The important thing to remember is that God is always with us, even in times of disappointment and illness, and in these times it is important to draw near to him and still have faith.

In this time of waiting, frustration, and disappointment caused by COVID-19, let us try to once again connect with God, to become human beings, rather than human doings, to take time to reflect on who we are in God’s love. At the end of this time of self-isolation, who knows, we might be something completely different, and more beautiful, just like when a caterpillar turns in to a butterfly.

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