The Monarch

God saw all that He had made, and it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning – the sixth day. ~ Genesis 1:31

About a week ago, while Sara was getting lunch ready after she brought Ephraim home from preschool, he came running up to her and said, “Look what I found!” That phrase coming from a young boy can often strike fear into the heart of any mother. You never know what you are going to see when they open up their hand. This time, thankfully, it was just a harmless, little caterpillar. Ephraim asked if we could keep it, and so we now have a new pet (like we needed more living things to take care of in our house).

Sara did a little research and found out that it is a Monarch Caterpillar and will soon enter into the process of morphing into a beautiful butterfly. She also found out that it only eats one kind of plant. Guess who got to go trekking all around the neighborhood looking for milkweed? That’s right, your esteemed pastor. For several days I hunted for this elusive plant, not knowing exactly what it looks like, only to find out there are two big vines of it growing right by our front door, with about six other monarch caterpillars crawling all over it.

My loving wife has been studying all about these fascinating creatures so that she can teach Ephraim his first real biology lesson. The truth is that she is way more excited about it than he is. In fact, I think she is a little obsessed with that silly caterpillar.

Last night we had a big scare. It looked like the caterpillar was sick and might not make it. He was throwing up, which I didn’t even know caterpillars could do, and was thrashing about. Sara was so concerned… I think she was about ready for me to bring out the anointing oil and pray for the little guy. She must have said several prayers on her own because he seems to be doing better today.

I have gotten a few chuckles out of this whole incident, I hope you have too, but it has also reminded me how amazing and creative our God is. It is fascinating to think about the transformation process for this one, little creature. And then to think about all the diversity, life, and beauty of this world that God created. Indeed, it is very good! That silly caterpillar has inspired me to say, “How great is our God!”

Sara’s loving care for this creature has me thinking even more about one statement I made in the message yesterday. How we treat the creation reflects how we feel about the Creator. If we think about it, we are all part of His creation. How we treat one another and how we care for creation tells us what we truly think about God. May our actions toward one another and our loving care of His creation become genuine acts of worship toward God.