Letter 31 - How Many Skins Have You Shed?

Dec 07, 2024

You’ve got Ginny today.

How Many Skins Have You Shed??

Okay, I seriously need to take a break from working on my newest novel. I love what I do more than I could possibly express, but there are times when writing the history of our nation is very disturbing. Being faced with the cruel reality of human nature demands I dive into lots of solitude so I can balance out people’s actions with the compassion of God. I truly believe that even in the darkest of times there is hope and grace to light the way, but there are times we have to really search to find it!

As Bregdan Women, we need to commit to searching for light in the darkness!

I decided to take a break today and search for the light and grace, knowing that I can’t communicate it unless I totally immerse myself in it! I went digging back through some things I’ve written in the past. When I found this, a broad smile spread across my face as one of the miracles of nature embraced me with its wonder – and then challenged me on my journey to becoming a Bregdan Woman. I hope it does the same for you!

How Many Skins Have You Shed??

One morning I woke up dreaming of Monarch Butterflies. It was such a great dream! My love of monarchs developed when I was a 20-year-old college student on a fall weekend camping trip with a college professor. At one point during the weekend, he ordered us all to climb to the top of a mountain and lay down in the tall grasses of the meadow top. Mystified, we did as he said, settled down in the grass, and waited quietly.

Soon the air was filled with hundreds, and then thousands, of
monarch butterflies on their annual pilgrimage - migrating south to Mexico. I will never forget the beautiful monarchs flying over our faces, settling down in the grass, delighting us with their beauty. I was mesmerized by what I had seen but I still didn’t have much knowledge. I just knew I was in love!

Oh, I knew about the “miracle” of the caterpillar becoming a butterfly, but my knowledge was sparse for more than 30 years. After my dream I decided to do some digging. The power of the Internet is truly an amazing thing. What I discovered as I explored from site to site absolutely amazed me. Let’s see if it does the same for you.

The Monarch butterfly hatches from a tiny little egg.

It is born as a caterpillar.

It then proceeds to do what it was designed to do at that stage. Eat. But it’s important to know it doesn’t just eat until it dives into the cocoon.

It actually sheds its skin 5 times. 5 times! It eats and grows. Then it sheds its skin.

Then it eats and grows – and sheds its skin.

It does this 3 more times; but when it sheds its skin for the 5^th time, something miraculous happens.

The 5^th skin is actually the cover for a thick mucus substance – its cocoon!

The caterpillar sheds its skin and then waits quietly for the mucus covering to harden into a cocoon. While I was fascinated by this information, I couldn’t help digging deeper.

I Googled – What happens in the cocoon? That’s when my fascination changed to awe…

I learned that the entire cellular structure of the caterpillar is broken down into black goop – only to be recreated into a beautiful monarch butterfly capable of flying 2500 miles.

A butterfly that is somehow encoded with the information of how to get to the same nesting area that its ancestors 5 generations before nested.

Wrap your brain around that…

And then wrap your brain around…

When the butterfly emerges, the only thing that remains from the caterpillar are 3 legs. The rest is all brand new. WOW!

Here’s an interesting question.

Could that wormy caterpillar envision what it would become?

I don’t know – I just know that from the time it was born, it was equipped with everything it needed to become what it was designed to become. I also realized that the only way that caterpillar could become a monarch butterfly was to go through the wrenching process of having its entire structure broken down to become something new.

Here’s another interesting question. I wonder if they are aware of what is happening when their entire being starts to break down?

I wonder if they think their life is over and the cocoon is nothing more than a pretty tomb?

I wonder if they have any clue that this dark, scary time is actually the prelude to the most wonderful time of their life?

As I learned more I realized the miracle of the Monarch butterfly is no different from the miracle of our own lives –

IF we choose to shed the skins of our life .

IF we are willing to undergo a complete transformation - allowing our entire being to be broken down into black goop, transformed, and created into something brand new.

It’s when people refuse to change – when they refuse to shed their skin – that they become trapped in their lives, unable to move forward into what they are meant to be and do.

Here’s what I believe to be 100% true. Just as the caterpillar is born equipped with everything it needs to become what it is designed to be, I believe we are born with that same ability.

Can a caterpillar refuse to shed its skin? I don’t know, but I know humans can and DO – many times.

Can a caterpillar refuse to enter the cocoon? I don’t know. I just know humans have that choice, and way too many people refuse.

Why?

You’re scared of the change. You’re scared of the unknown.

You’re scared because you can’t see what you can become so you choose to stay who you are RIGHT NOW – completely missing out on the miracle of becoming a Monarch Butterfly capable of amazing things.

I know that in my own life I’ve had to make the choice to enter the cocoon more than once. A Monarch butterfly has a short life span. Mine is much longer. So is yours. That means the transformation stage happens time and time again, if we allow it to. It’s not necessarily a fun process (I mean how much fun can it be to have your entire cellular structure broken down into black goop?), but I know that each time I emerge from the cocoon I’m able to fly further and longer. I’m stronger and more able to become the person I was designed to become.

Sometimes you know when you’re crawling into the cocoon.

Other times you emerge from a particularly difficult time and realize you have been completely transformed. Only then do you realize you were in a cocoon the entire time.

The secret to the cocoon – to becoming a powerful Bregdan Woman - is being able to embrace change – to actually WANT it – instead of resist it, or run from it. I see it in people all around me.

You’re willing to do everything but CHANGE. Well, here’s the thing.

Life IS change.

Nothing stays the same. Ever. Life just doesn’t work that way. When you grasp on to what is, and refuse to allow it to be any different, you’re quite simply stifling the whole natural flow of life.

Nothing lasts forever.

The hard times will change into good times.

The good times will change into hard times.

From the minute you are born, your body is changing – it is leading you to death.

There is constant change as you embrace all the seasons of your life.

Stopping it would be like trying to stop a tsunami.

I also want to tell you that the ONLY way you can lead the life you dream of is to accept, embrace and welcome the change as it comes.