It Came Out!
He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead, just as he said would happen. Come, see where His body was lying. Matthew 28:6
Bugs do not interest me. Not that I am a bug crusher, but I really need to know the purpose of an insect before I am willing to share space. The cicada has multiple reasons for existence other than children collecting empty shells. Cathy Mayfield shares a wonderful resurrection message in All God’s Children.
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“Look this one just came out too! See the empty shell? See how its wings look milky and wet? Look at this one that came out earlier. Its wings are clear and so pretty!”
Ah, the joys of sharing God’s creation with little ones. The seventeen-year cicadas of 2021 became a turning point for our eight-year-old granddaughter and some joyful fun for her two-year-old sister. Until then, the elder one detested bugs of any kind and screamed if she even saw a spider. The younger had never seen a cicada shell. And neither had experienced the hundreds that coated the ground, trees, and bushes.
I’d brought bug houses, hoping the tiny viewing window would ease the older one’s fears and allow the younger one some fun watching the cicadas up close. She had none of her sister’s fears and not only picked up the shells to put in her container but also grabbed hold of the first live insect she found, which she promptly dropped when it rattled its body. Nonplussed, she scooped it into her bug house with the shells.
Before we went inside, the older one also enjoyed picking up the crawling bugs to study their huge red eyes and the intricate patterns on their wings. I found one shell that had a tiny split from which the newly formed bug had not yet appeared. We put it in one of the containers with a stick for it to cling to. Later that evening, I heard from our daughter that the girls had watched the bug emerge and, with their dad, had let it loose on the tree with its friends. Their joyful, no-fears, wonder-filled comment: “It came out!”
And so has Jesus. I have nothing to fear. Hallelujah! Jesus came out; He’s alive!
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He arose! He arose! Hallelujah! Christ arose! Robert Lowry
Heavenly Father, cloaked in mystery and majesty, we continue to praise You and bless Your holy Name. From the smallest of Your creatures, we are reminded of You. Thank You for all life lessons. AMEN.