Spiritual Molts

My son was fascinated by the horseshoe crab shells we saw at the beach.

My son, bless him, is an avid collector of just about anything. My daughter calls him a hoarder. Aren’t siblings fabulous? He is truly fascinated by God’s creation and will pick up anything that catches his eye from rocks to shells. When we happened upon this horseshoe crab, on our vacation this summer, he was anxious to bring it home with us. It was kind of broken up and my hubby talked him out of it. We also happened to be on the way to dinner.

But, ever undaunted, he found several more the next day and we let him bag them up. Horseshoe crabs go through molts as they mature. They get too big for their shells and they must shed them in order to grow. There are many animals in nature that do the same. They shed hair, skin, feathers and antlers among other things, so that they can grow. We’ve all seen a snake skin. That snake had to shed his skin so he could grow larger.

What we didn’t know about the cool looking horseshoe crab shell, was that they stink. When I tell you they stink, think dead, rotting fish sitting around. They smelled awful. We put them in several trash bags and kept spraying them with Lysol until we could get them home into some bleach and water.

The entire process got me to thinking about how we as humans grow spiritually. When we begin a journey with Jesus, we sometimes begin to shed bad or unhealthy habits. Sometimes particular attitudes that used to fit us beautifully, no longer fit. Sometimes relationships that used to fit us like gloves, no longer fit. In our process of personal growth, we can outgrow actions that used to make us happy.

But, just like animals who molt, we are most vulnerable as we begin to shed the old attitudes and old choices. In the beginning of our faith walk, we can be unsure of our path, which is why it can be so very important so surround ourselves with a strong faith community, who can encourage us and help us along as we grow stronger. In turn, as we grow stronger, and get further along, we should make it our business to help those who are  just beginning their journey.

In the beginning, we can be tempted to go back to those old pre-molt ways, but we can find that they no longer fit us, just like the horseshoe crab shell, and furthermore, they can be toxic and stink like those shells.

Paul wrote a good portion of the New Testament, and so much of it is about community. It’s so important to our faith walk. When I hear people say they don’t like “organized religion,” it drives me crazy because with no organization or plan, how can there be community? How can we learn from other Christians and how can they learn from us, if we sit at home and read the Bible or just watch a sermon on television?

I think that we go through spiritual molts throughout out lifetimes. The more we grow, the more we shed old beliefs and attitudes and I think the bottom line is we need each other, whether we like it or not. That’s just how we are made. We should always seek community and encourage one another.

“And let us not neglect meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.” Hebrews 10:25

What do you think about community and spiritual molts? I’d love to hear from you.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂