Butterfly Release at the Cross

Each Easter, members of our church bring cut flowers to tuck into a cross covered with chicken wire. Some flowers are purchased and some are picked from church member's gardens as they leave their homes to travel to church. By the time church starts, the cross is covered with flowers.

It's a beautiful cross and makes a wonderful backdrop for Easter family photos. Dozens of people take photos of their families after church, standing in front of the cross.













At the end of our Easter church service, each person receives a butterfly to release at the cross. At a signal from our pastor, the butterflies are released all at one time, each person individually releasing one butterfly.














Butterflies are passed out in glassine envelopes, which keep the butterflies safe and snug until they are released. These butterflies are farm raised and are first released into nature at the church. A sticker on the envelope reminds everyone of the reason for the release

























Butterflies are especially symbolic of Christ and his Resurrection. The chrysalis is symbolic of the tomb or grave. The adult butterfly is symbolic of Resurrection, life, and hope.

When released, many of the butterflies fly to the flowers on the cross. After a short while, they fly off to find flowers for nectar and each species particular host plant to lay eggs.

Butterflies are now packed and waiting for their release tomorrow after church. Pastor Steve will share with us the glorious story of Christ, his Crucifixion, and Resurrection. After this message, we will go outside and release butterflies.

What we often forget is that Good Friday was the day that Mary watched her son, friends watched their friend, and brothers and sisters watched their brother being nailed to a cross, suffer, and die. It was not a glorious sight. It was horrible and heartbreaking. The cross was designed as a torturous death. It was a torturous death.

Most people's vision of the cross is fairly clean. It is made of clean wood (or other material) without the blood and groans of pain visible or audible. It is often draped with purple material. Even with the figure of a man painted or carved on the cross, the blood and agony isn't often shown.

This horrific death was suffered by thousands of people. Crosses were covered with the blood of thousands of people, some innocent of the crime they were accused of commiting but not innocent of any sin, like Jesus was. Thousands of backs were filled with splinters from crosses. But out of the thousands, only one could have simply spoken the word and had ten thousand angels to come to his rescue (see below).

Out of the thousands of crucified people, only one could have and did take my sins to the cross with him. Only one could take the punishment for my sins. Only one could have and he did.

So what is there to say about this type of love? This type of love that could only come from this man who did not WANT to go to the cross but loved the Father and loved me enough to do so. A man who had the power NOT to go to the cross but chose to do so even though it wasn't his will to die in that manner.

It was not HIS will to die this horrific death. But it was HIS will to do the will of the Father and that was what he prayed in the garden while his friends slept, "Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done".

There is so much I could say but what counts isn't what I say. It's what I do. It's what I think. It's what I am in the very depths of me, the very essence of myself, that counts. I pray that what I AM will speak for me of the love I have for this man, the son of God, who is God himself, Jesus Christ.

I am thankful that God has and will forgive me for the gaps between what I am and what I should be. That's what Easter is all about!

Matthew 26:53
"Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels?"

Luke 22:41-48
41 And he was withdrawn from them about a stone's cast, and kneeled down, and prayed, 42 Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done. 43 And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him. 44 And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground. 45 And when he rose up from prayer, and was come to his disciples, he found them sleeping for sorrow, 46 And said unto them, Why sleep ye? rise and pray, lest ye enter into temptation.

47And while he yet spake, behold a multitude, and he that was called Judas, one of the twelve, went before them, and drew near unto Jesus to kiss him.

48But Jesus said unto him, Judas, betrayest thou the Son of man with a kiss?

Luna Moth Green Caterpillars ....

Green Luna Moths are large and beautiful. Their tails have a slight twist. Burgundy edges this fantastic creature. This is the moth of the Lunesta commercial!













Their wings have beautiful 'eyes'. Scales cover their wings, giving the moths various colors in their eyespots. Both the forewings and hindwings have eye spots.














Sweet Gum leaves are one of the host plants for these moths. The leaves are the same color as these caterpillars. When not eating, they rest on the stems or petioles, with head and feet raised. They have six real legs in front and ten prolegs in back.














When not eating, their six legs are folded together. These particular caterpillars were preparing to molt. Their head capsules were on the tip of their heads and their prolegs were locked into a mat of silk. After about a day, they would crawl out of their old tight skin, remove their head capsule (like a mask), and continue their lives.


I introduced these green caterpillars to Michael and Caden this week. They've seen thousands of caterpillars, but have not noticed the Luna moths. Their position fascinated the boys. The caterpillars were out of food and we added branches of Sweet Gum leaves to the containers where they were being raised.













I asked the boys if they knew what the caterpillars were doing and asked them to look at their legs. They responded with a puzzled "No". I teased them with "They're praying and thanking God for the leaves we're feeding them."













Michael and Caden are familiar with praying and thanking God for their food. But the idea of caterpillars doing the same was quite a new one. They studied the caterpillars closely. At supper, they told Stephen (Papa) about the caterpillars praying and thanking God for the food we brought them. (They knew that I was teasing them and they were now teasing Papa in turn.)

I grew up with a Daddy and Mother who never ate a meal (or let us eat a meal) without first thanking God for it. The idea of eating any meal without giving thanks was a foreign one. Of course, we didn't always stop to give thanks for a bag of candy or a bowl of ice cream. We teased about it sometimes, saying that God knows we're always thankful for dessert!

As I thought of this later, I thought about how I so often take so many blessings for granted, not stopping to thank God for them. Things like being free from asthma and allergies, being able to move about freely and see with my eyes, living in Florida with long summers and (compared to the north) mild winters, and living with modern medicine and a full educational system. Friends; I fail to thank God often enough for friends and the blessings they bring into my life.

1 Thessalonians 5:18
In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.

Incomplete Molt; Restricted Life

Molting is a normal process for caterpillars. As they grow, they must molt (shed their old skin) to grow larger. If they do not molt they will die.

Sometimes a caterpillar will start to molt but some of the old cuticle (skin) will stick. Usually, when it doesn't properly molt, it will die.

If a caterpillar doesn't molt at all, it will die due to restriction all over it's body. It is totally bound up in it's 'old self'.

Sometimes the skin will cause a restricted area around it's body. As the caterpillar grows, the circle of old skin restricts one area of its body. That one area stays the same circumference. In time, it cannot function properly and will die.















The arrow in the above photo indicates an area where skin stayed completely around the caterpillar. It is restricted and cannot grow at this point. The front and back of the caterpillar will grow, but it will have a 'waist', not how God designed caterpillars!

If you look at only the front part or rear part of this caterpillar, it would look normal.

I wonder; is that how I am? Does my character look 'normal' when people only look at part of me? What is restricting me in one area that is keeping me from functioning as God intended? Or are there several rings of things I have let bind me in areas?

As I look back over my life, I see where I did shed things that once restricted me.

One of those things is that as long as I am concerned with what God thinks of me, I have learned to not care what others think in certain situations. Sometimes obeying God makes others think badly of us. I have learned to let go of concern about how I appear to people and instead be concerned about what God thinks of me and also how I reflect God to others.

Caterpillars with Wings!

An older caterpillar starts developing adult butterfly parts before it changes into a chrysalis. In fact, a caterpillar has wings. The wings are simply developing inside of the caterpillar and they're not NEAR ready to use. Along with wings, its proboscis, legs, antennae, eyes, and other adult body parts are developing out of sight. The photo below has these parts labeled. Normally I don't use such a large photo on the blog, but with this photo, I wanted the parts clearly visible.



This photo is of a freshly pupated caterpillar. Remember; a chrysalis is simply a caterpillar without its skin. A few minutes before I took the photo, it was a Jing caterpillar, preparing to pupate. In three minutes, it changes from a caterpillar to an adult by simply 'shedding its skin'.

The labeled body parts that you see in this photo started developing in the caterpillar. As the soft fresh chrysalis reshapes over the next hour and develops for a week or more, these body parts as well as other adult butterfly body parts continue to develop. After they have fully developed, the adult butterfly emerges.

There are quite a few things going on inside the caterpillar and chrysalis that no one can see.

I try to always remember that when I am down on me. Hey, there's a lot of 'worm' about me but God is developing some pretty wonderful things inside me. No, not because I am special myself but because God loves me.

For years I have found myself praying that God will do two things:
1. Show me where I am wrong and need to change or grow
2. Show me wherd I have grown and changed for the better

The first one is easy. I see things I need to change every day. Patience, self-control (chocolate?), generosity, tolerance - it's enough to get downright discouraging! I know its God showing me because it's normal for people to think that they have a right to be impatient; after all (people often think), I'm as important (or more so) than he/she is! And so forth. It takes God to show me that eating wrong is a lack of self-control and no matter how bad my day has been, I need to take better care of the gift he gave me - a healthy body. Some fun food is fine as long as I do eat right overall.

The second one is what keeps me from becoming discouraged! God is gracious enough to show me where I have grown. How can I become discouraged when I can see God working in me? Sometimes (sadly, not always) I step back and allow someone else to go ahead of me (if I'm the only one in line so I'm not giving away other people's place in line too), I do turn down chocolate and other unhealthy food often, I sometimes give away things I want for myself, I realize that others have as much right to be wrong as I do (that grows tolerance in me), and I become encouraged. God IS working in me. I may not be changing fast, but I am changing inside. People may not see it on the outside yet - but I know that there are things going on inside that mean I am maturing.

Caterpillars Grow and Grow and Grow and Grow

Butterfly caterpillars grow and grow and grow.



These caterpillars grow about 2,800 times the weight they were when they hatched.



If they don't eat enough, they'll not grow as large. The photo below shows two chrysalises; one ate plenty and grew large. The other one didn't eat enough and didn't grow as large. Both emerged as beautiful adult Monarch butterflies. (Note: the word 'cocoon' isn't the proper term for a butterfly pupa).



Several things can keep a butterfly or moth caterpillar from growing to it's full potential:
1. Not enough food available (early frost, too many caterpillars, too early in spring for the food to grow fast enough to keep up with the demand)
2. Temperatures too cold (late fall and early spring) for the caterpillars to be active and eat well
3. Disease; sick caterpillars often lose their appetites
4. Too crowded; too many caterpillars on the same plant and they keep bumping each other or even purposely knocking each other off their plant
5. Plant losing it's nutrition (plant pests draining leaves of nutrition, drought)
6. Plant tasting wrong (spray on the leaves that change the taste, plant pests leaving a large amount of excrement on which sooty mold grows, strong fertilizers or other nutrients/chemicals drawn up by the roots into the leaves)
7. An older caterpillar becoming 'lost' and cannot find the host plant again to continue eating
8. And many other reasons!

It's sad to see a small version of a butterfly that we know is much smaller than normal. We know that something happened to cause it to be so much smaller than normal.

It will be mature; just much smaller than it's potential mature size.

But it's great to see that it did live to become an adult, even if it has not reached its full potential! If it doesn't have enough nutrition, it will starve to death and cannot become an adult. Sometimes it will become a chrysalis but doesn't have enough strength / life to finish developing to become an adult; an additional week or more as a chrysalis.

Quite often I look at myself and see that I am much 'smaller' or less mature than I should be. At 53, as a Christian for my entire life, I should have matured far beyond what I have to date. As a 53 year old 'newborn' Christian, I wouldn't expect so much out of myself - but as I said, I'm not a 'newborn' Christian. I was blessed to be raised in a Christian home where God was first - PERIOD.

Self-control is part of the fruit of the Spirit. So are the eight other attributes that I don't like to look at too close. Sigh. It takes a long time for this fruit to grow in me! Some parts of this fruit are more more developed than others.

I think about love and my first reaction is, 'Sure, I have love'. Then I remember that Jesus said that we are to love our enemies. Well, maybe I really don't have love in the sense Jesus used the term. It's easy to love those who love me. 'Full-grown' love is one that loves enemies as well as friends and loved ones. The love Jesus talks about is an action, not a feeling. We can't command our feelings but we can command our actions.

Joy; yes-sir-ree, I have joy! Then things go 'wrong' and I lose that 'joy'. But then I realize that I often mix up joy and happiness and yes, I do lose my happiness but I always have had the joy that God puts inside me. Hopefully, I'll never be tested with really rough times and have my fruit of joy tested.

Peace, long suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness ... each one of these parts of the fruit of the Spirit needs to grow to its full potential within me.

How do I grow this fruit to the right 'size'? As I think about it, I realize that this fruit grows the same way as a caterpillar grows, but feeding on the right food. If the Spirit of God is within me, my spirit grows and the fruit will grow.

I can be less than the potential God intends me to be; it's up to me. I can feed on the Word of God and by spending time talking to God, thanking God, asking God to grow me. Or I can ALL spend my time doing other things without taking time for God.

So what is my excuse:
1. Not enough food available? There is plenty for me to feed upon. I can't claim this excuse.
2. Conditions not suitable for me to be active and eat well? No, once again, conditions are perfect - I'm not always as active and feeding on the right things out of my laziness. Not an excuse.
3. Disease; hmmm - could I be allowing myself to become 'diseased' by allowing things to grow in me that shouldn't? Things like worry, lack of faith that God is in control, or other 'diseases'? Not an excuse.
4. Too crowded; no - I have plenty of time alone to read and study God's word and to talk with God in prayer. Not an excuse.
5. Plant losing it's nutrition; absolutely not. God's word does not change. Nothing can alter it's 'nutrition'. Not an excuse.
6. Plant tasting wrong; well, my attitude can cause problems with the taste but the taste of God's word is always good. But if I've become immersed in myself and don't want to listen to God's word because it will reveal my faults (as it should) then yes, it will taste 'wrong' because of my taste buds, not because of the 'taste' of God's word. Not an excuse.
7. Becoming 'lost' and cannot find food; God's word in this country is always nearby. God is always with me. I can choose to walk away but God will never leave me. Not an excuse.
8. And many other reasons - but none of them can I claim as an excuse for myself to not have enough to eat and grow as I should.

Even if I do not fully 'mature' or 'grow', I am still a child of God, like a smaller than normal adult butterfly is still an adult butterfly. But I am robbing myself and others if I don't feed properly to fully grow and mature.

It's past time for me to start 'eating' heartily in the spiritual sense. I thank God that there is always enough spiritual nutrition at hand for me to grow and produce fully 'grown' and mature fruit of the Spirit.

Galations 5: 22, 23
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, meekness, self-control;


Matthew 5: 43 -
Ye have heard that it was said, Thou shalt love thy neighbor, and hate thine enemy: but I say unto you, love your enemies, and pray for them that persecute you;

Ugly Beginnings

Imagine finding what looks like a little pile of caterpillar frass (poop) on a leaf. You turn over the little pile and find a pupa of either a butterfly or moth. What an odd place to find such a thing! Looking at the above photos, who would ever guess that something beautiful could come from this nasty little pile?

When I found this little pupa, I brought it home and kept it secure until the moth or butterfly inside emerged. I had no idea what species was inside, developing it's mature wings and body.

Imagine my surprise when I found the beautiful small green moth that emerged one day. This little moth resembles a butterfly with it's posture; wings upright over its back.




I started thinking about how much beauty comes from 'ugly' things. Our human judgement is not commendable.


This caterpillar is also considered 'ugly' ....


... and so is this chrysalis. The caterpillar has lumps, bumps, and not much beautiful about it. The chrysalis is also brown and lumpy.

















Yet the Red-spotted Purple butterfly that develops from this caterpillar and chrysalis is a real beauty. One would never dream that such beauty could come from this brown lump of a chrysalis.
















This time of year we think of a spot that was also very disgusting to our human minds. A spot where animals were kept; with smells from animals and the smells of fresh manure of those animals very present. The word 'manger' brings images of clean beautiful surroundings, fresh hay, clean little lambs and donkeys, such as we see in 'manger' scenes and paintings. But lets look at the truth; even when a stable is cleaned regularly, it definitely keeps the smell of manure.

Now imagine the stable on the night that Jesus was born. There were so many people in Bethlehem that the inn was full. There arrived a man and a woman who was so far advanced in her preganacy that she delivered her baby that night. The inn was so full that the only option she had was the stable. This stable must have been filled with animals that people rode as they traveled to Bethlehem; remember that the town was full of people who came to register for the census.

No matter how many times the stable was cleaned, it simply must have been dirty when Mary was giving birth to Jesus. So many people had traveled to the town that the inn was full. Their animals would have been in stables. A very real fact about animals is manure. No matter how often a stable is cleaned, it will be dirty.

The smell of dirty sweaty animals must have been heavy. Mary's feet must have been dirty with manure as she walked through the stable. Joseph must have cleaned an area for Mary to lie down and to give birth to the baby that they both knew was far from an 'ordinary' baby. Angels had talked to each of them privately, months before. I can't believe that Joseph would have allowed this baby to be born in the midst of dirty animals and manure if he had any other option.

We can't know what it was really like; how many animals, how bad it smelled, how much manure was on the floor, what the surroundings were for this woman to give birth to her son. But it had to be dirty by our standards of living quarters, let alone a delivery room.

But we do know that the truly most beautiful thing ever to enter this world was our saviour, Jesus Christ. The son of God - who came from surroundings we humans consider 'ugly'.



Matthew 1 : 18 - 21
This is how Jesus the Messiah was born. His mother, Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph. But before the marriage took place, while she was still a virgin, she became pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit. Joseph, her fiancé, was a good man and did not want to disgrace her publicly, so he decided to break the engagement quietly. As he considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. “Joseph, son of David,” the angel said, “do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. For the child within her was conceived by the Holy Spirit. And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”

Luke 1 : 26B - 38
God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a village in Galilee, to a virgin named Mary. She was engaged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of King David. Gabriel appeared to her and said, “Greetings, favored woman! The Lord is with you!” Confused and disturbed, Mary tried to think what the angel could mean. “Don’t be afraid, Mary,” the angel told her, “for you have found favor with God! You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be very great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David. And he will reign over Israel[e] forever; his Kingdom will never end!” Mary asked the angel, “But how can this happen? I am a virgin.” The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the baby to be born will be holy, and he will be called the Son of God.

Luke 2 : 1-7
At that time the Roman emperor, Augustus, decreed that a census should be taken throughout the Roman Empire.(This was the first census taken when Quirinius was governor of Syria.)All returned to their own ancestral towns to register for this census. And because Joseph was a descendant of King David, he had to go to Bethlehem in Judea, David’s ancient home. He traveled there from the village of Nazareth in Galilee. He took with him Mary, his fiancée, who was now obviously pregnant. And while they were there, the time came for her baby to be born. She gave birth to her first child, a son. She wrapped him snugly in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no lodging available for them. Mary responded, “I am the Lord’s servant. May everything you have said about me come true.” And then the angel left her.

Luke 2 : 15 - 16
When the angels had returned to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, “Let’s go to Bethlehem! Let’s see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.” They hurried to the village and found Mary and Joseph. And there was the baby, lying in the manger

Spider Webs & Butterflies

Spider webs are sad for butterflies. Many butterflies lose their lives in spider webs.

A few days ago I walked into an area of the garden and saw this sight; a Viceroy butterfly caught in a spider web. As usual, my camera was strapped to me and I stopped to take a photo. I reached up to remove the web and realized this Viceroy was still alive! I gently removed the webbing and let it fly. No problem; it was READY to go! Normally the butterfly is struggling and I know it is alive without touching it.

I thought about all the butterflies I find in webs that are dead; obviously dead.



As I thought about the butterfly over the next fews days, I thought about all the butterflies that struggled to get loose and either was killed by the spider or, if the web was old, just starved in the web. Yes, they're 'just insects' but I have a strong emotional attachment to these winged beauties! I always am thrilled when I know that I saved one.

'Saved' one. I keep thinking how Christians use words that people who did not grow up in a Christian church or family have trouble understanding. Christian terms are often like a foreign language. 'Saved' is a Christian term, too.

Christians say, "I'm saved" and to those who don't understand Christian language, it sounds very odd. What are we saved from? How are we saved?

Having grown up in a Christian home where God was as real as anything else in this world, I was kept from a lot of things that many people have had to battle. But even so, I was born with a carnal nature; selfish and without thoughts for God or others. People ask me about that; what do I mean that I was born selfish? The answer is simple. Watch any child. 'Mine' is often the first word a younger child learns. Older siblings tend to take their toys because the younger one isn't strong enough to hold on to it. Older siblings often clearly show that selfish 'me' nature.

Selfishness is normal; for most children, sharing is a taught action.

A child that doesn't throw a temper tantrum, doesn't take what doesn't belong to her, that does her chores, that never lies, that .... well, the list goes on ... that child doesn't exist. Every child has to learn to fit into society and live by the rules of unselfishness. That's the carnal nature that we are all born with. Yes, some are naturally more generous than others but even so, every one is born with the 'me' attitude.

I'm thankful that I have been 'saved'. Once I was old enough to understand about God and Jesus, I had the choice of turning from the nature that was natural in me and to ask for forgiveness and ask God to lead me for the rest of my life. Learning to leave the old nature behind was/is a slow process. Even now, at 53, I find the old nature is still here. (Especially when chocolate is around! Grin) But I know that God will welcome me when I die - to join him for eternity. Things will be the way HE intended it from the beginning!

I'm thankful for the one who 'saved' me.