He's Still Beautiful

Our caterpillar is still beautiful, but things are changing. We knew this would happen, but perhaps did not realize just how quickly the process would begin. Yesterday Bob was very active, crawling up, down, and around his living space. He even enjoyed crawling up and down one person's arm with no hint of fear. He seemed so alert, so alive!

Today, from the very beginning, things were different. When touched, he recoiled almost as if in horror; throughout the day he was almost completely inactive. We checked on him frequently, like good nurses checking on a patient in ICU. I gently moved the container once or twice (ever so gently) to make sure he was still alive since we couldn't hook him up to anything to check his vital signs, and he moved ever so slightly, letting me know he was still with us. One of our fears was that by keeping him in captivity, he might die rather than live out the appointed life God gave him in his natural environment.

Throughout the day he almost seemed to be "nesting." Despite his seeming inactivity, he managed to get his leaves situated as they needed to be, and by five o'clock I could see tiny, delicate strands that he apparently produced as part of God's plan for the change that has already begun to take place. I wanted to take a picture of him; however, my camera is really not designed for the type of close up I would need to take. Also, I was afraid of how the flash might affect him.

I don't know what tomorrow will bring; I don't get to babysit him at night. I think we'll see much more of a cocoon - maybe it will be complete or perhaps just partially complete by tomorrow morning. I'm looking forward to what tomorrow will bring, though I feel sad at what I perceive as the end of Bob's life. I know that he is really not dying, just moving on to a new stage in his existence.

Bob's story is really a miniature of our own lives as God has ordained them to be. God has created us; and throughout our lives, we will change. If we heed God's call, we will become new creatures while still in our earthly bodies. We will be changed, and some of those changes should be visible to others. As we near the end of our earthly lives (assuming we do not meet an untimely end), we will probably begin to slow down (though it will probably not be an overnight event as it was for the caterpillar), and people may even comment later that they saw signs of our lives drawing to an end, changes in our behavior. And just as the caterpillar will not die but will instead be renewed into a new life, we too will not truly die. We will move from our earthly life in our earthly bodies to a new body that will never die and life eternal with Jesus Christ in Heaven.

Isn't it amazing how God gives us this glimpse of his eternal plan for us in the life of a little caterpillar?

Blessings to all.