Waiting

(Blog by Barbara Harry, 3 September 2020; updated 20 June 2023)

The signs were there. Will it come today? I waited.

Transparent skin allowed the orange and black lines to protrude. Was that a crack beginning to appear?

Monarch butterfly season had given me a fresh insight into the marvels of creation. My garden was littered with swan plants and my camera was on standby. The eggs were abundant, allowing a great selection of shots as the insect traversed its cycle.

I wonder what the hatching looks like in real-time? I carefully cut the branch where the small, green sac hung, transferring it into a bottle on my kitchen bench. I wasn’t going to miss this action!

7 AM. There it is! Transparent! The crack has appeared and something is protruding … yes, it’s emerging!

This process had begun only two weeks earlier as the caterpillar had turned upside down and metamorphosed into a hibernating haven.

The newly hatched body lingered on the stalk; the fragile extension gradually becoming turgid.

Stillness. Rest time!

Wings expanding, outstretching, now fluttering nearby.  

2.45 PM. Suddenly, the rapid wing movement propelled the butterfly’s aerodynamic body across the room, alighting on the doorstep. The maiden voyage had begun.  

The birth had taken nearly eight hours. Wow! What a miracle! The Creator of the Universe has done it again!

Waiting can be hard. Twenty-eight years ago, while emerging from ‘burnout,’ I savoured reading a book about the soul traversing mid-life, transforming as a butterfly. The parable has continued with me. 

Awaiting the birth of this ‘Waiting’ book was also hard. I felt like a lady-in-waiting! The lengthy process of selecting content, design and sourcing financial provision has been character-building and refining. There has been transformation through tears and prayers. I thought I was waiting for Yahweh to come through, but then I discovered what ‘waiting’ means in the original Hebrew Scriptures … well, you’ll have to read the book!

Publishers make the birthing so much easier. The ‘Waiting’ re-print is in transformation, with a due date hopefully by September. Be in quick and add your name to the pre-order list.

I’m now preparing for the adventures ahead, in partnership with Holy Spirit. I wonder where He’s going to take this new creation?

Waiting

Messiah
I find it hard
to wait!
Yet You
didn’t wait
for me to ask
“How much
do You
love me?”
You  s – t – r – e – t – c – h – e – d  out  Your  arms
Allowed Your blood to flow
Now You
ask me…
How much
do you
LOVE ME?
You wait
And
keep
on
waiting

© 2021 Barbara J. Harry

Further Reading: Psalm 25:4-5; Isaiah 33:2; John 3:16-17; 21:15-19; Romans 6:23