Let the Change Begin

“Do not be conformed to this world,
but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”
Romans 12:2

“It’s an alligator!” she shouted in terror. As she grabbed my legs, I assured her there weren’t any alligators in our living room. She persisted, “Then it’s a snake!”

Clearly, my daughter had spotted something out of the ordinary. I reassured her there weren’t snakes in the house either, but I began to doubt myself. I cautiously walked toward a pile of toys, looking ever so closely for any creepy, crawly things. I picked up the stuffed black bear, nothing. Then I spied the culprit squirming on a pair of pants meant for Buttercup the Build-A-Bear Leopard.

I laughed as I proclaimed, “Oh, Lil. That’s just a caterpillar.” An ugly, brown caterpillar that stretched no more than an inch. I bravely picked up the caterpillar, ummm I mean, the pants and flung the caterpillar out the door to its proper home-outside.

Then guilt settled in. It has turned awful chilly outside. Would the ugly, brown caterpillar have any chance of transforming into the beautiful butterfly it was meant to become? How sad it may never wrap itself in a cocoon and transform from its current limited state of crawling to a butterfly, free to fly where it wills?

Sadly, I spent much of my twenties as an ugly, brown caterpillar. Emotions took reign and kept me from being transformed for Christ. My walk with Christ was based on how I “felt.” When life was going well and emotions ran high, I felt good. When life through blows and hit hard, I felt like I was crawling around getting nowhere only to be flung outside in the cold with no direction of where to go. This cycle continued much of my twenties.

To stop the cycle, I needed to encounter an authentic transformation from within- a metamorphosis. A Romans 12:2 kind of transformation, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”

My emotions controlled my thinking. It was all about how I “felt.” I was constantly changing from feeling one way to another. Growth in my walk with Christ was limited.

Metamorphosis needed to occur. I needed the Holy Spirit’s power to work from within. But how? By the renewing of my mind.

Renewing my mind on Sunday’s and Wednesday’s is not enough. Meditating on God’s Word must be a daily occurrence. As we surrender our will to His through the renewing of our mind, we will experience growth unexplainable - much like a plain caterpillar transforming into a magnificent butterfly.

Will you join me in wrapping ourselves in the cocoon of God’s Word and be transformed? Once the metamorphosis takes place you will never want to be a caterpillar again. Can’t wait to see you flying in the freedom of God’s will!