A butterfly newly emerged from its chrysalis must wait patiently for its wings to dry. The same is true of dragonflies, but they emerge from a naiad, which is an exoskeleton they occupy while living in the water eating voraciously in order to turn into the winged jewels we see darting about grabbing mosquitoes and flies out of the air.

And while they wait patiently for their wings to dry, butterflies and dragonflies are extremely vulnerable. In both cases they have come out of a protective “shell” of sorts but cannot employ their primary mode of defense from being preyed upon–flying–until their wings dry. So they wait.

I once waited next to a newly emerged butterfly, crouched on the trail beside the plant it clung to, its wet wings glittering even more than usual. I was determined to protect it until it was able to fly off, but my aging knees and impatient spirit would not have it. Besides, my hiking companions were moving on down the trail…

We could learn a great deal from creation about waiting, about vulnerability, about becoming in good time the creatures divine love created us to be.