By Victoria Ostrosky
He didn’t know it, but someone planted the milkweed he was chomping on. He didn’t know the lady who researched and planned the small flower bed and bought the milkweed specifically for him and his brothers and sisters, anticipating that the scent of the milkweed would float on the breeze and bring Monarch mommas around to lay their eggs.
You see, the homeowner had a dream for her own Garden of Eden, as it were, and she labored to make it an attractive place for butterflies and bees and hummingbirds. Each plant was carefully selected and placed, watered and encouraged daily.
In a couple of weeks or so, the well-fed Monarch caterpillars with their tell-tale yellow and black and white stripes were ready for the next stage in their life’s journey, and overnight they began to disappear, one by one. The lady who had watched over them so religiously was surprised, then saddened when she couldn’t find them clinging to a partially eaten leaf. Upon doing more research, she discovered that it’s common for Monarch caterpillars to leave their host plant when it’s time to form their chrysalis and begin their metamorphosis. Some have been known to travel as far as 30 feet to find a spot safe from predators.
She knew that birds wouldn’t bother them since the milkweed they fed on produced a protective toxic substance in them. But our Florida Panhandle lizards and frogs are immune, so it was entirely possible that ‘her’ caterpillars had been gobbled up as someone’s dinner.
You can be sure that the lady looked everywhere and on every plant throughout her yard, hoping to find even one chrysalis, but to no avail. She was disappointed but also elated that she had at least, hopefully, done her part in perpetuating the beloved Monarch species.
Mothers are a lot like that when you think about it. The Hebrew word for Mother is ‘Ima’ and comes from the root word ‘em’. “This root word is profound, suggesting that a mother is a wellspring of life, wisdom, and tradition, emphasizing her role as the primary influence in the social and spiritual fabric of the family.” (Hananya Naftali from his article What Does the Hebrew Word for ‘Mother’ Really Mean?))
We plan for our baby’s arrival down to the smallest detail. We feed and clothe, teach and comfort. Mothers are the nurturers. That’s the way God made us. We listen and wipe away tears as we gather our little ones into our arms soothing away the pain. We instruct and discipline. Our end goal is for our caterpillar children to grow up and move away. To become good people, good neighbors, good workers. But mostly, men and women of God, contribute in a positive way to make the world a better and safer place.
Today, things are looking bleaker and bleaker with violence and hatred on the rise. As followers of Jesus, we know these things must happen, but we still grieve as we see it occurring. But the mother in us, that God-given, nurturing spirit, compels us to rise above everything that is happening and point our children to the only One who can make sense of it all.
In Galatians, the Apostle Paul teaches us that the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith. This fruit is essential to victoriously navigate the treacherous world we find ourselves in. As mothers, we are commissioned to redeem every day that we have with our children, teaching them these important truths, so when they are ready for the next stage in their life journey, they are prepared.
When our caterpillar children are thoroughly trained, then as they journey into the next phase of their metamorphosis, they can be the light dispelling the darkness around them. So, mommas out there, keep the faith, hold the line, and never grow weary of telling your children again and again about Jesus and how they can have forgiveness of sins.
Author: Sowal Editor
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