Though I’m not well versed on the process of a caterpillar/ butterfly emerging from a chrysalis, I am fascinated by it. And all of us can agree on the beauty of the butterfly no matter the means of development. But recently I have been thinking again of how much the formation of our lives is similar to the hiddenness of the chrysalis and the work that goes on there.

One definition of a chrysalis is that it is the hardened, protective outer shell formed by the caterpillar’s own skin after it has shed for the last time. It is the ‘inactive’ stage of the life cycle that will result in the eventual complete transformation into the new form of the butterfly. As one friend told me, during this metamorphosis the caterpillar’s body literally breaks down into a kind of mush or soup. Then it will begin the process of forming into the butterfly. This ‘mush phase’ is the most delicate and crucial part. If the chrysalis is tampered with early and the mush disturbed, it will never be able to finish the transformation.

Hence the title of this post: Don’t mess with the mush! Earlier this year, I wrote a post about the frequency of messes in our lives and the need to embrace them, what one mission leader called ‘Messiology’. (See Embracing Mess: Lessons from Messiology for a New Year). As we walk through those seasons of mess, there are always transformations going on that we usually do not see. Perhaps in our personal lives or families, or even our nations. But getting to that change requires a metamorphosis, and that requires a stage of mush.

When change is going on inside us or in our nations, we are tempted to become impatient and ‘mess with the mush’. Perhaps we check too soon what is happening inside that chrysalis. Or we give up and wait too long, never checking again and missing the emergence of the butterfly completely. The mush phase is absolutely necessary to see the transformation we desire in our lives. It is as the word implies: ugly, no clarity, unfocused, chaotic…You fill in your own words. Sound like your life sometimes, or your nation?

So what are a few possible meanings of the phrase ‘don’t mess with the mush’?

1. As I wrote above, it is interfering with the natural process that needs to happen. These developments and formations are extremely delicate. Sometimes the best thing we can do in a situation is to ‘give it time’. And the problem so often in these transformations is that they are too dang slow! Recently I was thinking again of that wonderful quote by Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, ‘Above all, trust in the slow work of God. We are quite naturally impatient in everything, to reach the end without delay. We should like to skip the intermediate stages. We are impatient of being on the way to something unknown, something new.‘ We want to skip the mush stage, interfering with the important process going on.
2. Similar to the above, we can use external means to disrupt the internal work going on. So much is always going on internally where we can’t see. A phrase that has become very important to me and comes from Jungian depth psychology is ‘do the inner work’. There is so much inner work that needs to be done, and many times that is in letting the silence and depth do its work. It is a kind of paradox, as it is not really working harder, but letting that mush ‘be’ long enough to bring the metamorphosis. The inner restructuring needs to be completed.
3. Not messing with the mush also means don’t harm something that is very vulnerable. As I wrote before, this stage of the mush is perhaps the most delicate part. When we are going through internal changes that have not yet emerged into the outer world, it is a very vulnerable season for us. The caterpillar has already begun to change, but the butterfly has not yet been formed. It is an incredibly risky season of development.
4. And finally, don’t mess with the mush means be patient!! I find this so difficult, do you? Even now, there are things in my life that I feel are being formed within. Places in me that feel like ‘mush’. I can’t see any butterfly, or even a caterpillar anymore. Everything within me says to give up and let disappointment again rule my soul. But this is the stage where we most need to keep going, and let the mush do its thing! Let the mush create what it will create!!

I will end this post with a beautiful story I heard on a podcast recently. A young girl found a chrysalis outside her house one day. Not knowing what it was, she was about to break it open and see what was inside. Her father was near and gently had her bring it into the house and put in a special place. He did not describe to her much detail of what was happening inside, just asked her to trust him and wait for a while. One day, after the girl had already forgotten about the chrysalis, she called her father as she noticed a gorgeous butterfly flying around the house. ‘Where did that come from?’, she cried! Her father took her to the chrysalis, now empty, and explained to her in a way she never would forget.

What mush is in your life right now? What natural processes do you need to let take their course? Where do you need patience in your own story, or in your family, or in your nation? Where do you need to ‘Trust the slow work of God?’