A Transformation From Within
Table Talk
Setting the Table
You are welcome here. Come just as you are, bringing whatever is on your heart today. Take a few moments and allow yourself to just be. Take a couple deep breaths, grab yourself a cup of coffee, light a candle, do something that brings you comfort. Allow yourself to be present in this moment.
Consider the way a caterpillar spends its entire existence on a journey to become something new.
We delight in the beauty of the butterfly, but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty.
- Maya Angelou
2 Corinthians 5:17
Therefore if anyone is in Christ, they are a new creation: old things are passed away; behold, all things are made new.
Food for Thought
When I was in elementary school, one of my favorite books was The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle. My teacher once read it to the class and I loved how each page guided us along this tiny caterpillar’s journey of metamorphosis by way of food. You probably know the story, too, of how this little guy eats his way through countless treats, stuffing himself so full that he builds a “small house” for himself and enjoys a little rest. After a journey like that, I can only imagine that he found himself in the ultimate food coma. But eventually he nibbles a little hole in the cocoon and out comes a beautiful butterfly.
The brilliant colors of the butterfly in Carle’s book captured the imagination of our class. We were amazed by the transformation of this little caterpillar who now had wings to fly.
After reading the book to us, my teacher brought a butterfly kit to class so we could watch this wonderful process in action. What I remember most about this experience was the anticipation of the beautiful butterfly emerging from its cocoon. I also remember asking myself, “what happens inside that cocoon?”
I was recently reading this book with my daughter and found myself wondering that same question again... so I looked it up.
As it turns out I was completely wrong about the food coma! Apparently, there is no rest happening inside of a cocoon. As the caterpillar experiences its metamorphosis, the old body dies away and a new body forms. The cells completely shift and the caterpillar’s body is broken down from the inside out. It’s honestly hard to understand how this process is even possible, but what I do understand is that it does not come easily. Hard work is required to make this transformation happen.
As we are moving through this season of Easter and Spring, it’s hard for me not to draw parallels between this metamorphosis, the resurrection of Jesus, and the renewal of all the life that is happening around us in nature. We aren’t told exactly what happens when Jesus is in the tomb those three days, we simply know that it ultimately leads to his miraculous resurrection. When winter comes and the growth of the last year falls dormant for a season, we may not fully understand what happens below the surface of the land, but we serve as witnesses to regrowth and renewal each spring - witnesses of a transformation that happens from within.
It is this same sort of transformation that makes disciples out of strangers, that makes friends of fishermen and tax collectors, that makes dinner guests out of wanderers. It’s a renewal of heart that blesses the poorest, elevates the last to first, that calls the rich to give away their wealth. It’s a resurrection of the soul that led Jesus to this most audacious command - that we are to love one another with as much care, attention, grace, and forgiveness as we love ourselves. We are to love with the kind of love that doesn’t pit us against one another, but that reaches out, that forgives the unforgivable, that bridges differences, and works to overcome injustices for one another.
Can you imagine the life this world would experience if we opened ourselves in this way?
We are all called to this kind of radical transformation. A journey from death to life. An awakening like spring. A metamorphosis much like the caterpillar that allows us to be broken down from the inside out. It is hard and sometimes painful work, but if we are willing to let our old comfortable selves be changed, we can be transformed into a completely new way of being. It is a metamorphosis of love that first begins with each one of us - but as renewal emerges from within us, it has the ability to transform not only our hearts and lives, but also the hearts and lives of the communities around us.
This is the perfect time of year for some butterfly watching! Take a few minutes on a sunny day to study the butterflies. Admire the brilliant colors of their wings and consider the ambitious, persistent caterpillar from which it evolved.
If going outside isn’t possible for you, try drawing or coloring a butterfly or beautiful spring flowers. Paint the World Super Coloring has all kinds of free coloring pages that you can either print or color online.
Blessing
God of new life,
Help us to see the possibility that exists within us;
Help us to see how our own transformations
can offer beauty to the world arounds us.
A little Table Talk for your table...
What comes to mind when you think about transformation? Is the concept scary to you? Can you find joy in the possibility of change?
Is there a transformation you’ve been intending to make within yourself? What has been holding you back?
What is a small step you can make today to open yourself to transformation already at work within you?
Try taking it to the Kids Table...
Color your own butterfly! How many colors can you use to decorate your butterfly’s wings?
Take your kids with you on that butterfly watch. Encourage them to admire and appreciate the butterflies that flutter by, and discuss with them the wondrous miracle of nature that gives life to those beautiful creatures.