Death to Life

I'm so glad we live in a place that experiences a change of seasons.  And it's always right around the "changing time" that I feel this the most strongly.  Seeing the little signs of life (through all the raindrops) has been so wonderful this Spring.  Yes, the rain has been somewhat depressing, but keeping our eyes peeled for the tulips opening, the lettuces beginning to pop out, the Wren's eggs hatching in the granola box in the garage...they've all made us so happy, and made us realize that life IS springing forth from the bleak darkness of winter, even if it still feels rainy and cold to us.  (Not today--what a special Easter surprise with SUNSHINE and warm temperatures.  Alleluia indeed!)

We've also had our own little Spring experiment happening right under our noses inside the house.  We ordered caterpillars from Carolina Supply Company a couple weeks ago as part of our "insect nature study."  (I put this in quotes because I'm not the hugest fan of insects, and didn't know how else to begin our study, and ease our way into bugs other than to do it in an uber-controlled environment. Don't laugh.)   The caterpillars arrived in their little jars of "food" all alive and hungry.  And they just ate.  For days and days.  One piece of cherry pie.  One piece of chocolate cake.  One slice of swiss cheese.  One slice of salami.  And then one nice green leaf.  Then they felt much better.  But now they weren't tiny caterpillars, they were big, fat caterpillars.  Then they built small houses called cocoons (or chrysalis') around themselves...

We put them (attached to their paper) into their special cage.  They stayed inside for a few days (maybe a week), then they burst forth into BEAUTIFUL BUTTERFLIES!  What a sight!  (These are Painted Ladies, if you are interested.)  

But Eric Carle leaves out the BEST PART!  Watching them and looking at them closely is so much fun! We noticed mouth parts, eyes, the shapes of their abdomens, the little hairs on their legs and bodies, the proboscis.  (We even invented a new word for when butterflies are using that part: proboscising...say that ten times fast.)  And a few days later, we also noticed the mating.  Holy cow.  That's all I'm going to say about that.  Quite an educational experience for all of us!  (And a somewhat scary peek into life in the "wild," but if you want more details, you'll have to grow your own butterflies!)

This morning, Easter morning, we released the bunch of them, 9 total (although I think at one time we counted 10....that might've been a mistake...) to the sunny backyard.  The whole experience was a really neat thing to do at Easter.  It kinda reminded me in a cheesy sort of way of the resurrection story.  Jesus the caterpillar doing his thing, teaching His peeps, performing His miracles, spreading the Good News.  Then He "dies" and is in His "cocoon" for three days.  And when He emerges, it's His BEAUTIFUL, glorified self.  

(Is it bad that I just called Jesus a caterpillar?  I hope you pardon my simplicity and just "go with it" for the sake of the analogy!)  The big difference is that I will most likely not see this Painted Lady again.  But I sure hope that I'll see Him again.  That's what today, Easter, is all about...the hope of Heaven, the hope of a new life for all of us.  The promise He made to us that death is not the end.   

It was a wonderful day, more lovely than even words can explain, so along with our caterpillar-Jesus analogy, I'll leave with you a pictorial look at our Easter.  (And a million thanks to the Legare family, whose generosity, hospitality, and love always give me a small taste of what that "one day" in Heaven will be like!)