Sunday Scripture

"And the King will answer and say to them, 'Assuredly I say to you, insasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethen, you did it to Me.' "

Matthew 25:40

Butterflies

Black swallowtail butterfly

They were worth the wait. The yellows, oranges and blues on these stunning beauties get even more vibrant after they've dried out. This one had just left its chrysalis. It crawled daintily over our hands before it sailed into the southern wind. There it lit in a mesquite tree in our east pasture. 

For several days after all the butterflies flew away, we saw them return to visit the blooming basil, sage, oregano, and chives to sip from their tiny flowers. Then, we discovered butterflies laying eggs on the fennel plant. I gave the poor plant a shot of Miracle Grow, and now we are watching for more caterpillars.

The Lord God, He is an awesome God. 

More Change

After a few days, the color of the chrysalises changed from stick brown to grass green. And they wiggled if we touched them or jostled the terrarium. Lots of hard work was taking place inside. What a nice lesson in patience, for all of us. As is true so often with God's work in our lives, the result was absolutely worth the wait.

Caterpillar

by Christina Rossetti

Brown and furry

Caterpillar in a hurry

Take your walk

To the shady leaf, or stalk,

Or what not,

Which may be the chosen spot.

No toad spy you,

Hovering bird of prey pass by you;

Spin and die,

To live again a butterfly.

Chrysalises

Chrysalis attached to the top of our terrarium

When most of the caterpillars had grown nice and large, we began to find them hanging, as if asleep, all over the place.  One was attached to our driveway gate post, hanging by a single tough strand. Others were on the porch on the sides of potted plants. One was on the side of our house hanging from the limestone rock. About a day later, we checked them again and they had turned into these brown chrysalides (also called chrysalises.) At first I thought they spun the brown chrysalis around their caterpillar body so they could pupate. However, after further research we found that they actually shed their caterpillar skin and this is what is underneath. We even found several of the tiny wads of their colorful shed skin where they had dropped off the caterpillar.

We collected several big caterpillars and put them in a terrarium with some fennel to eat. In a couple of days they were all hanging quietly, then they shed their skins, then at some point they spun some more threads to hold them more tightly to the tops and sides of the terrarium. 

Then we watched. And waited.

Caterpillars

Black swallowtail caterpillar (Papilio polyxenes)

Only My Opinion

by Monica Shannon

Is a caterpillar ticklish?

Well, it's always my belief

That he giggles, as he wiggles

Across a hairy leaf.

We've been blessed to watch an amazing show the past few weeks. God let us in on the life-cycle of the stunning black swallowtail. It all began right here.

This fennel plant is growing in my front flower bed. One day the kids noticed it was covered with these colorful caterpillars.

We looked them up here to identify which caterpillar we had. At one time we counted more than 30 caterpillars eating heartily on this one plant. They devoured the fluffy fennel and grew and grew. Stay tuned and we'll show you what happened next!

Waiting

Waiting is hard. Waiting in line to check out at the grocery store gets boring. Waiting for a letter or a check in the mail makes us anxious. I've even found myself nervously strumming my fingers on the counter while waiting for the microwave to finish the popcorn. That last 30 seconds really dragged. Yep, waiting is tough.

Turn your sound up and check out these precious little ones who wait.

Sunday Scripture

Psalm 146

Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord, O my soul! While I live I will praise the Lord; I will sing praises to my God while I have my being. Do not put your trust in princes, nor in a son of man, in whom there is no help. His spirit departs, he returns to his earth; in that very day his plans perish.

Happy is he who has the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the Lord his God, who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them; who keeps truth forever, who executes justice for the oppressed, who gives food to the hungry. The Lord gives freedom to the prisoners. The Lord opens the eyes of the blind; the Lord raises those who are bowed down; the Lord loves the righteous. The Lord watches over the strangers; he relieves the fatherless and widow; but the way of the wicked He turns upside down.

The Lord shall reign forever - Your God, O Zion, to all generations. Praise the Lord!