met·a·mor·pho·sis
ˌmedəˈmôrfəsəs
noun
1. -------the process of transformation from an immature form to an adult form in two or more distinct stages.
2. -------a change of the form or nature of a thing or person into a completely different one, by natural or supernatural means.
3. --------Transformation, change, alteration, conversion, reconstruction
I went to the Sunday meeting with my lovely wife of 51 years and her dear mother who is now 90. The talk was about how the “truth” can transform your life. The speaker gave a very interesting discourse and he used the “metamorphosis illustration” of how an ugly, fuzzy, creepy caterpillar becomes a beautiful winged butterfly. Of course, he was trying to illustrate how the ugly, fuzzy, creepy life of a worldly person transforms into a beautiful butterfly type life once one becomes a jw.
I began thinking about how that illustration actually fits the life of those of us who have left jw’s. As a jw our life sort of crept along all warm and fuzzy but we never got to spread our wings and fly. And much like that caterpillar that had to go into the cocoon and cease to exist as neither a caterpillar nor a butterfly, so it was for us who left jw’s.
The struggle to break out of the cocoon was at times gut wrenching, a near death experience for some of us. For me it was about a 5 year struggle in the cocoon. But we made it and now we can spread our wings and fly. It’s a beautiful thing to own your own life. Ask any butterfly.
I hope it doesn’t take others nearly 60 years to realize that they are the caterpillar!
just saying!