Transformation of the Soul

Transformation of the Soul
By Gary Amirault

Recently, I was doing some studying into the various processes in nature that are useful in describing the processes God uses to transform the carnal, fleshy person that we are born as into becoming spiritual children of God. I came across a good description of how a caterpillar is transformed into a butterfly. As you study the process, see if you can find similarities between this process and some of the events in your life.

Building the Cocoon

1. A caterpillar, when it is fully grown, secretes a long stream of liquid from its glands, called the spinneret, located below its mouth. The liquid stiffens forming a silk like thread which is used to attach its hind end to a twig or leaf. The caterpillar spins the silky thread around its body to form a covering. This outside layer hardens to form a shell called a chrysalis.

   The Transformation Process

2. Inside the cocoon the caterpillar changes into a pupa. In a process called histolysis, the caterpillar digests itself from the inside out, causing its body to die. During this partial death, some of the caterpillar’s old tissues are salvaged to form new. This remnant of cells are called the histoblasts and are used to create a new body. Using its digestive juices, the caterpillar turns his old larval body into food which he uses to rebuild its new body.
   

   Breaking Out of the Shell

3. Once the pupa has fully grown inside the cocoon, and the butterfly is ready to emerge, the insect releases a fluid which softens the shell. The butterfly pushes on the walls of the shell until it breaks open. The process of a caterpillar turning into a butterfly can take anywhere from 10 days to several months. — Lacy Enderson

As you ponder the process of transformation of the butterfly, ask the Lord of All, to shed some light on YOUR change — it, too, is mysterious and wonderful. GA