This morning I came across the story of how an emperor moth emerges from it’s cocoon. Then I saw the first school bus go by. It was opening day in our town. Watching the children on the bus as it drove by made me think of my many opening days and the one particular thing I did in my classroom each year that got the kids involved right away, and that was the hatching of monarch butterflies.
We would set up a 5 gallon fish tank with some sticks and a mesh cover. My teacher friend would bring us a few caterpillars to put in the tank along with plenty of milkweed for them to eat. Within a few days the caterpillars would spin chrysalis’ and the wait would begin. The beautiful green chrysalis would turn black and then clear, and the children could see the orange and black wings folded inside. Then during the day, a child would yell, “It’s coming out!”. We would all gather around and watch the new butterfly struggle to get out of the chrysalis for a long time. The children’s first instinct is to want me to help the butterfly. I explain we can’t or it won’t be able to fly when gets out. “Why” they right away want to know, because to them it seems cruel to watch the struggle. I explain the body of the butterfly is very fat and contains the fluids that need to be pumped into the wings to make them large and full when the butterfly emerges. If the butterfly is not allowed to have it’s time of struggle, the fluid will not get pumped into the wings and it will be born with very small wings, not big enough to fly. The kids are awed by this.
As soon as the butterfly is fully emerged, they want to hurry up and take it outside to release it. Again, I explain it has to hang onto the chrysalis until the wings are dry and full of fluid. Occasionally some of the orange fluid will drop into the bottom of the tank and the kids will think it’s blood and be afraid that the butterfly is hurt. They learn there are byproducts of a successful struggle, and they learn that growing and becoming able at something cannot be hurried.
I used this story many times to explain to them why I wouldn’t open their milk cartons or zip their coats until they struggled and gave it their best shot. They were reminded of the butterfly when writing their name would not come easy. Through the butterfly, five year olds began to understand the importance struggle has in our lives. This is just one of the many ways I, too, learned from teaching children.
We have all heard the expression “God will never give us more than we can handle”. It was the same way with the milk cartons and zippers. I would always rescue them if they were in trouble, but the important thing was that they tried. I think God wants us to try. The part of the struggle He allows, grows and develops our wings, but He is always there when He sees we’re in real trouble. God would never send us out to fly with less than adequate wings, but He will also not relent until we are willing to enter into the struggle and learn and grow from it, just as any good parent and teacher wouldn’t.
And so, as another day goes by, the opening days are gone, but the lessons learned live on, and I have written.
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