Today is the day we all look for, changing from the lowly caterpillar into something wondrously beautiful who stays connected during the mating phase for up to 60 minutes. WOW~ if we could all make both these things happen in our lives!
The common milkweed plant or Asclepias Syriaca has several interesting properties besides the one that makes hungry caterpillars turn into monarch butterflies, as you can see in my back yard photo above. It also provides a toxicity to them as a natural deterrent to predators. Several parts of it are edible; the immature stalks like asparagus, the flowery clusters, like broccoli, the tender pods like okra to name a few. In WWII, the fuzzy parts inside the mature pod was used to stuff life preservers and the Internet indicates there are companies today that are using this "green" alternative to bird down stuffing for pillows, jackets and bedding.
Who knew all of that about Milkweed? Also, I cannot say I have tried eating any of the parts of the milkweed plant but several Internet sites say you can. Eat at your own discretion!
The monarch is an incredibly beautiful butterfly and until I read up on it, I did not know that the males have an extra set of 'dots' (the androconium) in the middle of the lower wing set which release their pheromones (hey baby, I'm lookin-for you!) and are slightly larger than the female but the female has darker veins on the wings. They find the female during the aerial phase and then during the ground phase, they complete their mating. This species is so outstanding, they make trans-Atlantic flights and there is a protein stored in the antennae that tells the butterfly if it is aligned with the earth's magnetic field.
The part that particularly interests me about the monarch however, is the change from caterpillar to butterfly. We are all familiar from science class with the word metamorphosis which is the process by which it changes from one to the other. There is a Greek word that metamorphosis is derived from called metamorphoo*oo; to highlight the pronunciation, and it occurs in Romans chapter 12 verse 2.
We all can change from the caterpillar to the butterfly simply by thought. Change from the not-so-beautiful to the butterfly by changing our mind from what we see and feel, to what is written. "What?"
Now my non-Bible fans can skip over this part, it will be foolishness to you, but to anyone else who wants to try it, I think you will find yourself looking at the butterfly in the mirror more frequently. The King James version reads like this "And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed (metamorphoo-oo) by the renewing of your mind, that (why do this?) ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God".
Seems impossible but there you have it; try not being conformed to the world and what is seen ("I am sick, I am poor and I am helpless"), but rather, seek the promise and stick to it no matter what. "I have health, I am prosperous and nothing is impossible" even though that is not what your circumstance is or what you are seeing in the mirror at the moment. Say it anyway.
"A lot of nerve she has!" you might say, Well, yes, I am not currently ill, but I have been in a place where tomorrow might not have come to shine on my face. I have a job and a roof over my head, but I have been in a place where I did not know where the next meal was coming from. I am not helpless now, but I have been in a place where I had to crawl to a phone to get help or my kids needed food and there was a big vacant space in the wallet and the frig.
Life happens to all of us, I am not saying it does not. I am saying that for some people, if we utilize the option of change of thought then it can change our circumstances. That may take some education on what is available and some time to practice it and, what we have is a life-long journey. Nobody arrives at a perfect place of thought or living totally without problems or issues. Our bodies wear out, there are emergent things that change circumstances and so on, but, I encourage choosing to make the journey easier and hopefully, longer.
Try it out, you have nothing to lose and everything to gain!
"Dahling, I love the spots on your nose! When are we leaving for the Azores?"
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