Transformation is possible – even for you and me. Many years ago, when my middle child was still in preschool, his class had studied the caterpillar-to-butterfly transformation process. At the preschool open house, they were to release the butterflies into the world. Like clockwork, the caterpillars had done their thing and began emerging from the cocoon right on schedule.
The evening of the open house came, but so had the rain. So, the open house was moved from the outside into the sanctuary of the church. No one gave the move in venue much thought and the evening activities continued flawlessly until…
It came time for the butterflies.
Each child carefully and gently held onto their own plastic jar in which the caterpillar’s transformation into a beautiful butterfly had occurred. At the appointed time, the teacher called for the kids to lift the lids and release the butterflies. She had done this sort of thing for years and was reading from a script she had used many times before.
There’s just one important thing she forgot. This year, we were holding the open house indoors and not on the church’s outdoor patio. Forgetting the location and reading from the old script, she told the children to release their butterflies. They did. It was a beautiful, holy, inspiring moment for about ten seconds. Then, being caught up in the air flow by the powerful sanctuary ceiling fans, the butterflies were chopped up like a chef mincing an onion. And the fans threw the finely chopped butterfly parts all over everyone, including the now screaming children.
Ah, transformation.
It can feel like one is being torn apart when going through transformation. And we may identify with the screaming part, as well. The miracle of transformation in real life rarely goes as smoothly as it does in a well-prepared script.
In fact, the transformation that has taken place in my life has not gone according to the script I try to write. So, when does our transformation come? I have found that it comes, if it comes, when I turn my focus from self to others. When we yield to the inner persuasions of helping others rather than the outer ambitions of our old selves in the world, transformation is possible.
Shalom, Paul