I took a dance class
In high school.
For one assignment
My friends and I
Choreographed a modern dance
Called Metamorphosis.
Amanda was a tadpole
That turned into a frog.
Kisha was an egg
That hatched into a bird.
And I was a caterpillar
That turned into a butterfly.
We laughed through it
As we made it up.
And tried not to laugh
As we performed it.

I find myself
Thinking about caterpillars
And butterflies
But I pause to ponder the cocoon.
If I saw a caterpillar
Build a cocoon
Without knowing
What was about to happen,
I might think
That’s a strange ending
For the life of a caterpillar.
Maybe it just built
Its own coffin
And now it’s dead.
That was the end.
Go home.
The show is over.

I might not realize
That inside
Something amazing is happening.
The caterpillar
Isn’t dead
But changing
Into something else.
What looks like nothing
On the outside
Is actually the setting
For a lot of somethings:
Wings
Different legs
Different body
Lighter and longer.
A totally different creature.

A creature that can fly.

I find myself thinking about this
Because I believe
God gave us
This incredible metaphor
Of metamorphosis.
Sometimes I really feel
That on the outside
Everything looks like
Nothing is happening.
Maybe even death.
Definitely the end
Of something.
And I remember the butterfly.
And try to remember
To look into my imagination
And my heart
At what I can’t see yet.
What God might be making
With His power and imagination
Out of me
The lowly caterpillar.
He invites me
“Dream bigger.
Imagine bigger.
Even bigger.
Because it’s going to be so good.
Even better than you can imagine.”

And I remember the story
About Naaman (1)
A man who has leprosy
And wants to be clean
So he is told
To go wash himself
Into the Jordan River
Seven times
And he would be clean.
Which time of the seven
Was the one that healed him?
Maybe it was the combination
Of them all. (2)

Perhaps it will be also
When all of the experiences
Of my life
Are added up
And God adds His touch
His divine design
And turns ordinary things
And people
Into something
Extraordinary
And
Beautiful.

In the meantime
When I feel like
I’m in a cocoon
Because it feels like
Something died
A chapter ended
Or nothing is happening
I try to remember the butterfly
And trust God.
Because maybe
Just maybe
Something is actually happening
I just can’t see it yet
But it’s going to be amazing.

Learn more about Naaman here:

(1) 2 Kings Chapter 5
(2) Don’t Miss This episode

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