The monarch butterfly is a glorious creature to behold. If you’ve ever witnessed it’s beauty, watching it in flight is a vision you don’t forget.
However, to get to that point in its life there’s a journey and a fight requiring strength and determination.
There are 4 stages in the life cycle of a monarch that it must pass through to reach maturity; egg, larva (caterpillar), pupa (chrysalis), adult.
Each stage must be completed before it can go onto the next.
We walk around and see caterpillars but forget the stage before that they had to persevere through to become who they are.
It’s not often in everyday life that we get to see a chrysalis hanging from a branch…and sadly our first thoughts would probably go to thinking it was a sac of nasty bug eggs instead of the incredible and transforming miracle that is slowly taking place inside of that precious little pod.
When I think of the amazing wonder of the Monarch butterfly my heart and mind immediately go to our street engaged and homeless youth…they fight the odds around them and win against the world that tells them they can’t. These incredible young people fight and succeed to go from one stage to the next with the strength of giants and the determination of a Monarch.
What a gift we have in getting to be a part of this process or when we take the time to stop, listen and appreciate the miracles all around us everyday.
Let’s remind each other to push the pause button, sit on a park bench, share our time and listen to the story of someone who had to fight hard to get to the stage in the cycle of life that they are currently in.
~Bonnie, Staff