Turning Pages

If I were to name the past few months of my life, I would call it turning pages.

Often when we think about seasons of change, we talk about the caterpillar and all of their preparation to get ready for their next stage of life.

We also think about the beauty and grace of the butterfly that finally grows its wings.

But I don’t believe we spend enough time reflecting on the stage in the middle of the butterfly’s life cycle: the chrysalis stage.

In the Cocoon

From the outside, it may look like nothing’s happening, but deep inside the cocoon, an incredible transformation is taking place.

In the cocoon, the caterpillar’s old body dies as its new body forms and becomes a completely different creature.

But even more, the caterpillar’s brain has to literally rewire itself in order to control its incoming wings. 

If you can’t tell by now, I loved learning about metamorphosis in elementary school lol.

But in all seriousness, there's something so symbolic about the chrysalis stage; it shows us that before every beautiful new beginning is a necessary death.

Shedding the Old

And that’s sort of where I’ve been living lately - somewhere between no longer being a caterpillar and growing into wings that haven’t quite reached full maturity yet.

To tell you the truth, my chrysalis stage has been uncomfortable, to say the least. 

I’ve found that things I used to enjoy, coping mechanisms I used to lean on, thought patterns I used to subscribe to, and people I used to consult, no longer bring me comfort. On the contrary, they’ve been weighing me down lately.

Initially, this shift made me think there was something wrong, but as I reflected, I realized I’m just in transformation. I’m turning pages.

Just as the caterpillar’s body must dissolve to take on a new shape, there are parts of us that we also need to release to make room for our new wings.

While releasing the things that once felt like home can feel scary, the reality is that you were never meant to carry dead weight. 

Making Room for Wings

I don’t know about you, but I’m at a place in my life where I can no longer settle for what’s been.

I can sense God stretching me in new directions. I know He’s increasing my capacity. I can feel Him doing a new thing in me. 

While the death of what’s been is scary, the thought of never growing into my wings is even scarier.

There’s too much potential to unlock, too many lives to touch, and too many assignments to carry out to lay down roots in the past.

So as I’m turning pages, I’m making the decision to yield to God's process…again and I hope you do too. It may be difficult and it may even hurt a little, but the heights you soar to when you grow into your wings will be well worth it.

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. James 1:2-4 

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