Ecdysis

Ecdysis.  Moulting.  The shedding of one’s skin for the express purpose of growth or the regeneration of damaged tissue.

My favorite books of all times are C.S. Lewis’s Chronicles of Narnia.  And although The Voyage of the Dawn Treader is NOT my preferred book (The Last Battle is, since you asked), my favorite story line occurs in this book:

Eustace, the rather nasty cousin of the Pevensie children (the heroes of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe), accidentally enters Narnia with them, and they find themselves involved in an ocean voyage.  During a stop at an island, he discovers a dragon’s treasure without realizing what it is, and he falls asleep with greedy thoughts surrounded by wealth.

He wakes up, somehow changed into a dragon himself.  Thus begins his transformative and redemptive process as he begins to think outside of himself and desires to become MORE THAN.  It is a touching narrative as he attempts to communicate with the sailors, and his anguish is palatable.  Eventually, his self-pity gives way to a deep desire to be useful, to be in fellowship with the others again.

After the transformation from within expands his perspective on life, he has an encounter with Aslan, where he is shown a pool in which to bathe.  While in the water, he begins to scratch off his scales, and he moults for the first time.  He sheds his skin, and it feels quite freeing…for a time…until he realizes the moulting has not changed his inner essence.  He is still a dragon.  He tries over and over, to no effect.

Until he submits to the lion, allows the painful, compassionate claws to pierce his thick skin and find the tender boy hidden underneath.

Eustace had the opportunity to shed his skin, and he grew.  The damage done to him through his upbringing and his own poor choices…they were regenerated and made new.

And the Pevensie children welcomed him with open arms!  He had been so very hurtful to them, but they expressed joy at his transformation and delight that he had discovered his true self.

I’ve been a Eustace plenty of times.  There’s this saying, “Hurting people hurt people.”  It’s true.

I’ve felt like I’ve lived in a dragon’s body, struggling to fight through it all and to be seen and known for who I truly am….

I’ve experienced ecdysis, and the painful raw, soft skin that results from it…when your protective coating is removed, you are extremely vulnerable and, even knowing that growth or healing will occur, the pain is still strong and very, very real…

And I’ve been a Pevensie, on the other end of a Eustace, wishing he’d find his Aslan, hoping he’ll shed his skin, desiring the opportunity to express my joy in his transformation…

But…you can’t make a Eustace shed his skin.  He has to ask his Aslan to cut into it.  And watching a Eustace stumble and fall is painful, especially when you have walked the path, earned the scars, learned the lessons…

I pray we all live this way…experiencing ecdysis; learning, growing, and receiving healing for our damaged souls…and giving grace to those around us who are in the process of moulting, recognizing the tender skin which is exposed during the time of growth.  Because if you’re not experiencing this process; if you are not growing…you are dying.