“Look,
Kenzie! A Woolly Bear!” I pointed to the fuzzy orange and black caterpillar climbing on the tire of the four-wheeler.
“Can
I touch it?” my brave four-year-old great-niece asked, stretching out her
pointer finger to pet the creature.
“Sure!
Some caterpillars can irritate your skin, but this one won’t.
I picked up the caterpillar and held it out to her. “Look how it rolls up into a ball!”
I picked up the caterpillar and held it out to her. “Look how it rolls up into a ball!”
I
have always been fascinated with the beautiful Banded Woolly Bear caterpillar. This
black bristly creature with its distinctive rusty orange bands is plentiful in our
area.
Woolly
Bears hatch in late summer to early autumn and hibernate over winter when they
freeze solid. In the spring they spin their cocoons and about two weeks later,
the Isabella Tiger Moths flutter forth with their muted apricot and tan wings, differing strikingly from the vivid black and orange of the Woolly Bear
caterpillar.
As
I researched the moth’s life cycle, I was reminded of the Sunday in 1977 when I
trusted Jesus as my Savior. At that time God led me to 2 Corinthians 5:17.
“Whoever is a believer in Christ is a new creation. The old way of living has
disappeared. A new way of living has come into existence.” (GOD’S WORD
Translation)
According
to Galatians 5, when we ask Jesus to forgive us, our sinful human nature, with
its pride, anger, envy, etc. is nailed to the cross. God’s Holy Spirit fills us
instead, producing in us love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness,
faithfulness, humility, and self-control.
Ephesians
1:19-20 shares the awesome news that the mighty strength which God used to
raise Jesus from death is the same force that is at work in all who believe!
What incredible power God releases to shape us according to His will. The
change God brings about in us is even more remarkable than the make-over a
Woolly Bear caterpillar undergoes, emerging from its cocoon as an Isabella Tiger
moth!
Could
your life use a radical transformation? God forgives us for our sins and
failures when we believe that Jesus paid the penalty for them by dying on the
cross. Along with that forgiveness is the offer of a new life, a clean slate, a
complete makeover! Ask Him today. It’s a request He always answers.
Be
encouraged!
Pam©2018 Pamela D. Williams
