Day 326 | Monday, 8 February 2021

Day 326 - Audio Version

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Day 326 | Monday, 9 February 2021
From the Church Mouse

I have been thinking about the in-between times. The in-between time at Christ First from the puzzle bulletin board of winter in the woods and baby bears for the bulletin board designed for the beginning of Lent. The in-between time from beginning all the COVID 19 rules and regulations to the end of the pandemic and regaining some sense of normalcy (whatever that might be). In watching my mini orchids bloom now, I think of the in-between time between now and when I can raise my beautiful Monarchs again.

And we all….are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory,
which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.
2 Corinthians 3:18 (NIV)

What a miracle is the process of metamorphosis! This is the in-between time for a Monarch butterfly. A green, black and white caterpillar hangs upside down from a tiny stalk rooted in silk spun by the caterpillar. It sheds its skin, hangs in a “J” shape, straightens out, and sheds its skin for a lime green chrysalis. Bidding farewell to its former life, it turns into a kind of chunky caterpillar soup. These cluster of cells, called imaginal cells by scientific experts, are the bits and pieces that will join together to create a Monarch butterfly. Imagine that! And the thing that blows my mind is that this protein goo is just the thing that will fuel the transformation from creepy crawling to soaring on the wind. All at once the chrysalis splits to release the Monarch with tiny, crumpled wings and a fat body. Four hours of flapping its wings shifts the fluid from the body to the wings. Once the wings are dry, the Monarch is ready to be released.

I think we’re all in a big in-between time now: a period of transformation for us. It’s scary to find ourselves hanging upside down facing the unraveling of our old life. Maybe we’re not sure who we are anymore. The future may look fuzzy and out of focus. Maybe we feel like a mess and maybe we are because the process of becoming is always messy….just like the Monarch.
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The in-between times are a necessary part of becoming, a necessary part of life and growth. Author Len Woods once said, “Change isn’t fun, but we can’t know the life God intended for us without passing through the in-between times.”