Engrained

I'm stuck in Blogger. Ok, not stuck, but my loyalty is with Blogger. MSN Spaces looks fun, but it's not for me. I don't care about posting pictures and the other things you can do with it. I like the less structured feel of Blogger.

Prepare

In kindergarten, my class performed a little experiment. We put a few caterpillars in a plastic terrarium and watched for a few weeks to see what would happen. At first, there was nothing terribly exciting. The furry little bugs just crawled around and ate leaves. The biggest change would be that the leaves would get smaller. Then, a couple weeks into our observation, something did happen. The caterpillars started to wrap themselves up in thin, silky thread. We watched one caterpillar spin the thread about itself. After a short time, it was completely enclosed and cut off from the world.

What was going on? These ugly little bugs were shutting themselves up? Wouldn't they die in there? Though all of us knew ahead of time the miracle that would occur, it was still a wonder that these bugs would do something so seemingly foolish. But we continued to watch for ages, it seemed. Finally, after what was probably only a week or two, something happened. We watched as out of this cocoon emerged one of God's daily miracles: a butterfly. THis delicate insect had come out of that restrictive cocoon, the same cocoon that had before held an ugly caterpillar. Now it emerged, ready to finish its life and perform its most important task: continuing the species so that this earth may be continually blessed with these amazing creatures.

It's a common misconception that wrapping oneself in a protective cocoon is restrictive and dangerous; that the cocoon will smother the person. After all, how is one to learn if they have rules that stop them from truly living life? I ask, how are we supposed to become the amazing beings we have the potential to be if we don't wrap ourselves up in that cocoon?

At my young age I have vast potential. I have reached adulthood and can, theoretically, take care of myself. Legally, I can live on my own, get a job, and abandon all the restrictions I've been raised with. But, what if I'm not ready? I've been raised in a cocoon, protected from the many dangers out in the world. Is it time for me to emerge? Am I ready to face the world?

No, I don't believe so. If I try to break out now, I'll come out an underdeveloped being, without the ability to use my wings. I need more time in my cocoon. I need more time preparing for that dangerous world out there. If I come out now, with my wings still growing, I won't have what I need to fly away from the dangers that the cocoon currently protects me from.

Perhaps that's what my mission is most important for: it is the point when I can begin, under the guidance of the Lord, to break free of that cocoon. Then I can begin to spread my wings and practice using them. When I return home, I'll have dried off my wings and I'll be ready and poised not just to fly from danger, but to fly towards those gardens and flowers where I can find beauty, safety, and nourishment. I'll be ready to seek out all that I need for happiness and joy that will last an eternity.