Two days ago my daughter came home very excited about two caterpillars she rescued from the school parking lot.  (They were almost flattened by a tire.)  And sure enough inside the biodegradable plastic school lunchroom cup were two caterpillars.
 
To the backyard she ran for more leaves and a couple of twigs so that they would be able to spin their cocoons...I remembered in that moment when I was a kid always bringing home stray animals and insects for my bedroom zoo.
 
Once inside she proceeded to show me her hand; and with much pride she said, "They both pooped and peed on me!"  I marveled at how this didn't bother her.  When asked to take a dish she had just finished a meal off of and place it in the dishwasher, her face contorts as she gets grossed out just thinking about the food particles left on the plate - go figure! (LOL)
 
The next morning we looked at the caterpillars and saw at the bottom of the cup was bloody, gooey fluid; and we thought that the one caterpillar had died somehow.  We paused a moment before heading out the door for work and school.
 
Unbeknownst to us, the bloody, gooey fluid was the first step toward creating the cocoon; and when we arrived home later that night both had spun their caterpillar made hibernating cave of transformation!  None of us being entomologists, we simply do not know what will emerge from the cocoon as we wait with anticipation.
 
My daughter snagged the cup this morning to carefully transport it to school because she'd like to show her buddies who / what was rescued from being squished.
 
These turn of events of unexpected guests going through a life transformation got me thinking about people...and some little nuggets of insight to share:
 
[1] Sometimes folks don't know that a "proverbial" car tire is about to squish them...and you may be called to lead them to safety - will you do it?  Will you take the time out of your day and readjust your scheduled list of things to do, to offer aide?  If you are the one in need, will you accept it?
 
[2] When you do offer aide, they may verbally poop and pee on you?  Why?  Because hurting people are easily hurt by people; and because hurting people hurt people. If they do give you a verbal vomit, then wash off their stuff because it was never yours to begin with - in therapy circles they call that transference.  When you lash out at someone, from a place of hurt, at someone who isn't the source of the pain, will you apologize?
 
[3] If you are the one going through the tough stuff, then keep in mind that there may be a little bit of bloody, gooey gross you have to let go of for the transformation to take place. If you are unwilling to purge the icky, then you may be stuck!  Stuck = stagnation and a form of living hell.  If you see another who may need to change their unhealthy attitudes and actions, will you, with a gentle firm compassion ask them if they see that they are the source of their pain?
 
[4] To purge the icky means making room for something new to take shape within you!  A cocoon is like an opportunity to enter into a time of spiritual reflection and discernment so that what you purged stays away as you make room for the new in your life.  Will you enter into a time of spiritual reflection and discernment being willing to grow vulnerable with God?  Will you support another who may need to take this journey?
 
[5] Each of us must take personal responsibility to emerge from the cocoon.  No one can bring you out!  Even Jesus told Lazarus to come out (he didn't go in after him)!  Yep, all of us can offer emergency assistance for a person in crisis, but none of us can rip another out of the cocoon, but rather must be patient with that person's own transformation-this is ultimately were personal responsibility comes into play!  Sadly, not every caterpillar emerges from their cocoon...may this never be the case for any of you!  But for those who do emerge, may there be a community ready to help them unbind and unburden themselves!
 
[6] None of us really know who we will be on the other side of transformation; and it is this mystery that may cause folks to dig into their insistence in staying stuck unwilling to let go of the gooey, icky that is clogging up their ability to experience joyful living.  Change is a challenge to most of us; and yet transformation is unavoidable.
 
[7] Finally, the good news is that we have a God who is with us every step of the way whether we admit it or not.  Jesus, the fully divine, experienced transformation to walk among us; and Jesus the fully human, experienced transformation in being raised from the dead...and as Jesus had his Parent in Heaven to be with him in the process...we have the Holy Spirit!
 
So these are my musings over transformations and caterpillars...hopefully you may get something worthwhile out of these jots and tittles...