I’ve been thinking a lot about cicadas lately. Mostly because I was walking the dog with middle son, and found a cicada who had just left his shell. “There’s a truth here,” I thought. I’m annoying that way. Always looking for truth in the ordinary.
Middle Son wanted to go back for his camera and take a picture, so we hurried home, picked up the camera and did just that. I still hadn’t come up with my lesson from a cicada. So, I did what any self-respecting teacher/discipler would do. I Googled it.
The type of cicada we found is a 17 year cicada. The life of one of theses beauties begins when its mother lays eggs in a slit on the bark of a tree. A few days later, the larvae from this deposit finds its way into the ground. They grow, unseen to the world and in darkness,from tiny larvae to about the size of a peanut, but it. takes. 17. years.
At the appointed time, the hard-shelled insect finds its way out of the darkness and into the light. Breaking out of its crusty straight jacket the cicada leaves the shell behind, and dries its wings in the sun. And then, it sings the familiar end-of-summer song so many of us recognize.
Did I ever find my lesson? Of course! God is always found in the ordinary. How many of us have a seed of faith planted inside, only to have it lie seemingly dormant for what seems like forever? Be encouraged! There is an appointed time; a time when you will leave the shell of growth behind and stretch your wings to sing in the glorious light. So, next time you hear the song of a cicada, remember the music you hear is 17 years in the making, and if you’re patient, your day will come. When it does, the tomb of the past will be forgotten in the joy of your song.
Linking with Ann today:
And perfectly imperfect Emily
journeytoepiphany.wordpress.com 
Hi..from next door at Anns…I love the lessons you found in the simple cicada…”the hard shelled insect finds its way out of darkness into the light”. I feel like a cicada in many areas of my life…past being forgotten in the joy…singing a new song.
Blessings~
Sing your heart out! II Corinthian 5:17. We are new creatures indeed.
“There is an appointed time”…how comforting that is. Indeed you find truth in the ordinary, JourneyGirl. Thanks for sharing…. and I love the pictures.
Of course you do Grandma. I think we’re a little biased.
Wow…how inspiring! I had no idea about the cicada. Seventeen years until it’s song can be heard. That is a beautiful image. At times I feel as if I will never “sing” the way I envisioned as a child, and yet, we are growing everyday and all is part of the process.
Yes, what we envision as a child is so glorious, and what we experience in reality can seem to pale in comparison. But, a cicada does what is born to do, and through faith and patience, we will too.
I love the positive you find, even in a cicada. I have to admit, I have a much dimmer view of the little buggers, with the damage they do to trees, especially the old elms as found in the eponymous Elmhurst, Illinois. They can be noisy little beasts, too, when they swarm.
But as in all things, they are part of God’s world, and though (like many things) loved by some and disliked by others, all part of what makes life so interesting.
Great post!
Thanks John. When it is the year of the cicadas, they can be overwhelming, but one at a time, on a case by case basis they’re kinda cool. I think they are beautiful….as long as I don’t have to touch them. or eat them, as a couple of my friends do.
Wow. LOVE this. I will be blessed continually by these words whenever I hear a cicada.
Your words are a gift. To have my words repeated when you hear the cicadas sing is a great compliment. Whenever I hear them begin in August, I remember that it’s almost my mother’s birthday!!
I love that you “are annoying that way.” I am too. Truly some seeds are dormant for seemingly a lifetime. 17 – isn’t that middle sons lifetime? See how fast it goes by? Time. It is so relative. xo
Actually, not to make both of us feel old, but middle son in 18. and a half. So now it’s his turn to sing! It was a fun walk, and he was a good walking/picture taking partner in your absence.
So… how long does the cicada live after its 17 years of prep? i’m often convicted by stories of long, long, long preparation for something simple, short but incredible. personally, I’m a bit too impatient to do that but imagine I should.
On another note, cicadas really weird me out for some reason. just sayin 😉
I was afraid to look. This little guy just came out of his shell. It’s getting cold here. It’s not looking good for a long life span. 😦
nice…some cool wisdom brought by the cicada…used to get them really bad in MD…like swarms…i do like to listen to them on the deck…and cool to know they were 17 years in the making…
We get them horribly every seventeen years, and few stragglers in between. This happens to be a straggling year. According to my Google info, the next year we have them badly here in Northern Illinois is 2021. Last time that happened they were everywhere. There were recipes for them and everything. The sound was DEAFENING! Thanks for coming by!
So true. I, too, am forever finding Jesus in the everyday things. This is a lovely gift.
He is everywhere, and we walk by and don’t see Him. How sad for us, when we are too busy to be refreshed by the ordinary.
lovely post. i’m not a fan of insects and their loudness, so luckily in california we don’t have cicadas. but i’ve never thought about them like this before. thanks for the insights and truth today. (fellow linker from ann’s today!)
I think they’re kinda pretty. Their coloring is nice and their lacy wings are beautiful. I wouldn’t want to touch one…but, from a distance it was fun to gaze upon.
This made me think of one of my favorite quotes.
“Live your questions now, and perhaps even without knowing it, you will live along some distant day into your answers. “
Rainer Maria Rilke
Georgette:
This is very profound. I will have to chew on it for quite some time…thank you for your gift of words.
How many times have I turned back with my daughter for a camera? 🙂 Now she’s learned to take it everywhere because you never know when you’ll need to take a picture, when you’ll see God in the ordinary.
That is so true. The next day, my son wanted to go for a walk with me. He took his camera. Of course we didn’t see anything particularly inspiring. That will come the day he forgets it again!
I can remember one year when the kids was little, they came out.
Every once in a while they come out in droves… The next time they do that here is 2021. We’ve got a ways to go.
Love this post; so encouraging. Thank you!
You’re more than welcome! Thanks for coming by!
Lovely post, so thoughtful. I love the cacophony of the cicadas. Amazing sound when they’re all singing! The other think about cicadas I find fascinating is that they have such small wings in comparison to their large body. They shouldn’t be able to fly, but they do. God does amazing things with the impossible, doesn’t He?
He does. That’s the only reason He can ever do anything with little old me…;)
Yes, there is a lesson in the ordinary…and a wonderful one here about the cicada – one I will remember when I see another or hear their song – Thank you!
I’m so glad to hear that this story will bring you lasting encouragement…Thanks for stopping by!
It humbles me to have so many people say that they will remember this story when they hear cicadas. I can’t think of a much higher compliment.
this is so exquisitely beautiful. and so very encouraging…((thank you))
Emily!! All of your comments were on my spam. I nearly cried when I saw them. I value your opinion more than any other blogger. Thanks for your kind words.
Great post! I’d heard something about “17 years” regarding locusts, but didn’t realize what it meant. Thanks for sharing!
Not all cicadas are 17 year cicadas, but this kind is. They are interesting littler buggers.
LOVE it. Waiting and believing for my appointed time!!
Sometimes we’re in our appointed time and don’t even know it!
Love the lesson! I remember those cicadas as a child. So amazing! Such truth here. Thanks for sharing!
You are so welcome! I remember them as a child as well. I was walking between two houses in Chicago, (which are very close together) and I remember seeing one plastered on the stucco. Oh, how I screamed and ran!!
Wow. What a beautiful post…and metaphor. Ode to discovering beauty in the moment.
Okay, I’m offically happy now. Leanne Shirtliffe has commented on one of my posts!!! It doesn’t matter that the skies are grey and cloudy now. Happy Dance!!