May 5
Therefore, if any one is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, behold, the new has come. 2 Corinthians 5-17
A few years ago, we decided to grow fennel in our herb garden. Because of the constant threat of cold nights here in New England, we waited until about mid May to place some healthy little starter plants in the earth. It worked out well; by the end of June, there were beautifully green, full plants with lacy tops ready to seed. I was so excited! Now I would have fennel seed to dry and add to the herb collection in the kitchen! Soon I would be sprinkling this nutritious little seed on lots of yummy things! Then, a week or so later, as I went to check the garden before watering, to my surprise all the lacy tops were gone! Mumbling about the squirrels probably enjoying a snack, I noticed a caterpillar, then another, then another! Strikingly marked caterpillars of green, yellow and black sprawled on the plants. Now I knew where the lacy tops went! For about two weeks the caterpillars devoured every part of the green herb that the naturalist in me had begrudgingly handed over to them. It didn’t take long though, for me to enjoy watching their daily activity and progress. How those caterpillars grew! Then one morning, much to my dismay, they were all gone, caterpillars and plants! I figured they had moved on to someone else’s garden, now that our plants were gone. Interestingly, they had left other herbs in the garden completely untouched!
Several weeks later on a warm, sunny day the end of July, as we sat outside enjoying the beautiful weather, my husband and I noticed a beautiful dark butterfly with purple, yellow and dark orange markings, flitting about on our flowers . . . then another . . . then another. We saw about a dozen of a variety we’d never noticed in our yard before! They were just beautiful and I scrambled to look them up to identify what we saw. Imagine my surprise when there before me, not only was the image of the lovely Black Swallowtail butterflies we were spellbound with, but also its pudgy, greedy, yellow and black speckled caterpillar predecessor! Tears came to my eyes when I first saw those breathtakingly lovely butterflies, but to think that had I chosen another path, these exquisite creatures would not have survived, really tugged at my heart.
What started out as greedy, aggressive little creatures with one goal in mind, evolved into something that takes our breath away. Made me think of my own often self-oriented ways, and some others that I know that are not always easy to love. And I found myself thinking, what if God decided to take another path with us, and not give us a chance at new life - a new creation in Christ?
God of all creation, in your love and mercy you offer us time and again the opportunity to follow you, and all you ask is for us to believe. In Christ’s name we do. Abba! Father! We are yours!
Copyright© 2014 Kathleen A. Matson
Therefore, if any one is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, behold, the new has come. 2 Corinthians 5-17
A few years ago, we decided to grow fennel in our herb garden. Because of the constant threat of cold nights here in New England, we waited until about mid May to place some healthy little starter plants in the earth. It worked out well; by the end of June, there were beautifully green, full plants with lacy tops ready to seed. I was so excited! Now I would have fennel seed to dry and add to the herb collection in the kitchen! Soon I would be sprinkling this nutritious little seed on lots of yummy things! Then, a week or so later, as I went to check the garden before watering, to my surprise all the lacy tops were gone! Mumbling about the squirrels probably enjoying a snack, I noticed a caterpillar, then another, then another! Strikingly marked caterpillars of green, yellow and black sprawled on the plants. Now I knew where the lacy tops went! For about two weeks the caterpillars devoured every part of the green herb that the naturalist in me had begrudgingly handed over to them. It didn’t take long though, for me to enjoy watching their daily activity and progress. How those caterpillars grew! Then one morning, much to my dismay, they were all gone, caterpillars and plants! I figured they had moved on to someone else’s garden, now that our plants were gone. Interestingly, they had left other herbs in the garden completely untouched!
Several weeks later on a warm, sunny day the end of July, as we sat outside enjoying the beautiful weather, my husband and I noticed a beautiful dark butterfly with purple, yellow and dark orange markings, flitting about on our flowers . . . then another . . . then another. We saw about a dozen of a variety we’d never noticed in our yard before! They were just beautiful and I scrambled to look them up to identify what we saw. Imagine my surprise when there before me, not only was the image of the lovely Black Swallowtail butterflies we were spellbound with, but also its pudgy, greedy, yellow and black speckled caterpillar predecessor! Tears came to my eyes when I first saw those breathtakingly lovely butterflies, but to think that had I chosen another path, these exquisite creatures would not have survived, really tugged at my heart.
What started out as greedy, aggressive little creatures with one goal in mind, evolved into something that takes our breath away. Made me think of my own often self-oriented ways, and some others that I know that are not always easy to love. And I found myself thinking, what if God decided to take another path with us, and not give us a chance at new life - a new creation in Christ?
God of all creation, in your love and mercy you offer us time and again the opportunity to follow you, and all you ask is for us to believe. In Christ’s name we do. Abba! Father! We are yours!
Copyright© 2014 Kathleen A. Matson