It happened early on during our time at Longbow. My friend, Freda, came to the Ladies Summer Bible Study that I was hosting in my home that year. As well as her enthusiasm for the group, she brought along some Monarch butterflies in a screen cage that were “on their way”, so to speak. You’ll understand that better as my story unfolds. I was intrigued, and so when I learned that Monarchs need Milkweed, I asked her if she could bring me some from her yard. She could and she did, and the very next week a largish clump of Milkweed arrived which I promptly divided up and planted in various places in my yard. Milkweed, true to it’s name, grows like a weed, and I had it everywhere I planted it. Finally, I allowed it to thrive in only one area, and started praying that the Monarchs would discover it.
Discover it they did. In this our fourteenth summer at Longbow, I have to say that my prayers were finally answered above and beyond all that I could have asked or even imagined. Yes, there had been the promise of Monarchs a few years earlier, but the summer of 2021 was simply great.
This summer of 2021 necessitated a late start at Longbow due to the Covid travel restrictions that closed the Ontario border to us Manitobans. When we finally arrived in early June, the Monarch caterpillars were already in Milkweed munching mode, and things progressed steadily from there, providing lots of enjoyment for me and my visitors alike
Photo credit: Christine Rankel
The situation gave rise to many more prayers such as, “please God, protect those juicy caterpillars from the birds”, or, “thank you Lord, look at that fabulous perfect Monarch!” And then the inevitable, “please God, I would love to see a Monarch actually emerge.” My prayers were answered to the full-including the bonus sighting of a caterpillar shedding it’s final skin as it becomes a chrysalis. That green chrysalis eventually becomes beautifully black, studded with gold, and transparently exposing the orange and black striped wings that are being miraculously formed inside. It’s interesting that when the butterfly emerges, that same chrysalis is simply a bit of nondescript clear material dangling under the leaf where the new butterfly now hangs and waits for its wings dry before it naturally and confidently simply flutters away.
I’ve titled this story waiting, because I prayed and waited a long time for the Monarchs to find the Milkweed in my yard. Then I waited to observe each stage of the process. I waited and watched in hopes that I would see a Monarch actually emerge. And I learned something new about waiting. I have a friend named Carla who paints what comes to her mind when she prays, or reads the Bible. One day as she and I were praying together, the Lord revealed to us that as we wait for Him to answer our prayers, He’s waiting too. He’s waiting with excitement, because He knows how happy we’ll be when He sends the answer we’ve been waiting for. Shortly afterwards, when I saw this painting on her Instagram feed, I knew exactly what she meant.
