We Thought It Was Dead

By: Greg A. Lane

A large goldfish bowl sat upon our dining room table for the last four months of 2018. The contents of the bowl: four or five brown twigs from which hung three brown Swallowtail butterfly chrysalises. We’ve raised Swallowtail butterflies in our home for many years. When I say “we,” I’m really referring to my wife Lisa. She’s the backbone of the operation. In previous years, we’d had great success hatching Swallowtails. All the butterflies usually hatched from their chrysalises in just a couple of weeks, inside the protected confines of our makeshift terrarium, and then we’d release them in our backyard, afterwards. But, in 2018, we met with seeming defeat. All three chrysalises formed in early September and by the end of September there was no change … nor was there any change by the end of October.

Lisa did some research and discovered that the incubation period varies greatly in Swallowtail butterflies, so we were still hopeful that our “babies” were going to make it. But then November came and went, and still there was no change in the chrysalises. (By the way, for the longest time I thought they were called “cocoons,” but my wife set me straight. Cocoons are woven out of silk by moths, while chrysalises are formed by butterflies. There’s your science lesson for the day!)

My daughter had come home for a visit during Christmas time and saw the fishbowl with the lifeless chrysalises in it, and asked if she should just put the bowl outside since it seemed obvious that they weren’t going to hatch. Even though it appeared like a hopeless situation, I said, “No, let’s keep them inside, in the bowl … there’s a possibility that they’re still alive.” I was hoping against hope that those chrysalises still had life in them.

On New Year’s Eve, 2018, I was sitting at my computer in my office when I heard Lisa exclaim, “Oh my gosh! One of the butterflies has hatched.” I ran to the dining room and there it sat, clinging to the dead branch in the fishbowl … a beautiful, full-grown Swallowtail butterfly. It was a miraculous moment in our household. It was just the sort of “sign” we needed. You see, the year of 2018 had been full of setbacks and obstacles in the Lane household. Don’t get me wrong … we were blessed, for sure. But we had also met with several difficult moments and challenges that had stolen some of our hope for the future. Seeing that beautiful butterfly lightly beating its wings where there once was a lifeless chrysalis gave me a renewed hope for my family for 2019.

So, here’s one thought that I couldn’t help but think during that awesome, unexpected blessing. Nature shows us that there are seasons of dormancy in life. And, if we find seasons of dormancy in Nature it is only because God Himself, the Creator of Nature, ordained it to be that way. So, even though it may seem to you like all hope is gone, and that death prevails all around you, don’t be surprised if new life rises from the ashes of what you thought was once dead. And the beautiful thing about it is that it may appear in a totally different shape and color than what you once knew … much like the once ugly, green caterpillar in the fishbowl turned into a beautiful four-winged, multicolored butterfly after four months of dormancy.

If 2020 has left you feeling like all hope is gone and you’ve given up on the future, I just want you to take a look at the photo of the butterfly in this article and remember this: There are seasons of dormancy where it appears that death has prevailed, but new life has been cleverly concealed by our Creator. Don’t give up. Keep believing. Keep hoping. That dark, dreary tomb is about to become a place of RESURRECTION!

Our newly hatched Swallowtail, just moments after emerging from its chrysalis.