THE POWER TO EVOLVE

The sun draped in crimson and gold rose hastily, spilling its beautiful light all over the plains of Lango, the white clouds beamed with glee when the half-baked hues penetrated their opulent canopies, it could only take a weather man to discern that the last days freezing night would turn into a scorching day, the sun snaked through the skies, and when it had reached its zenith, half the people on the streets had retreated to their homes or hidden under the trees that swayed gently, as the sun set, the strips of clouds turned to shimmering gold setting the stage for the abnormally large moon to bath the earth in its luminous glow.

December is invitingly rude, its high sunlit clouds, the skyrocketing commodity prices and a mass of people flocking through the streets are a huge eyesore, 16th December was not an ordinary day, I had travelled across the plains of Yumbe, drifted through the undulating hills of Moyo and embraced the savannah of Adjumani and gazed at the unforgetting huts in the outskirts of Gulu, the breath taking scenery captivated me as I traveled, the Japanese vehicle I was driving vibrated across the corrugated dusty roads, I had arrived in Lira, a City that was in a hurry to grow that evening, the shooting storied buildings and unplanned slums all competed for the land, the huge rumble strips and humps that gave us sore backs rolled out the red carpet. I was in Lira City to attend the overly anticipated crusade slated from 20th – 22nd January 2023 by Phaneroo Ministry International. On Thursday 19th January, something happened!

It was a cold grey afternoon with a dull sky, The hue clouds rolled slowly and low across the parched lawn at the Lira Mayor’s garden, a row of 2000 or thereabouts of plastic armless chairs were arranged in an orderly pattern, the young boys and girls dressed in immaculate white shirts and dresses patrolled the pews like they searched for beads in a sea of sand, In a second, I saw one of the ushers standing with hands akimbo through my left cornea, she was convincing a heavily drugged street child to come and take a seat, it seemed like they were selling ice to an igloo.

When the Phaneroo Thursday service was set and rolling, the preacher, Apostle Grace Lubega beaming with gladness appears on the mega screens in front of us, his voice immaculate, his splendor unmatched, he was sandwiched between an army of well draped choirs. “Today I am preaching a sermon entitled the ‘Power to Evolve’ exclaimed the man of God.” What is to evolve asked Apostle Grace, 

“Evolve is to grow, to alter, to transform, to convert into a greater, better, improved and more glorious version of yourself"

In the sermon, Apostle Grace taught;

“Our God is a God of advancement, growth, transformation and conversion and that He has designed our lives to adapt to a greater glory, so that we are better today than what we were yesterday in all aspects of our lives.” 

When the sermon concluded, the screams of joy and ululations were ear-splitting in confirmation of the impact it had had on us. The sermon punctuated with stories of mega conglomerates such as Kodak, IBM, Blackberry, Blockbuster, Nokia that failed to evolve eventually leading to their downfall, was breathtaking. I could hear resounding shouts of young men and women speaking in tongues as the worship song filtered through the gigantic speakers hanging on metallic trusses.

One of the most articulate analogies to depict the power to evolve, is the Butterfly Life Cycle, the butterfly develops through a process called metamorphosis. This is a Greek word that means transformation or change in shape. There are four stages in the metamorphosis of butterflies: egg, larva, pupa, and adult. The eggs are laid on plants by the adult female butterfly, then the caterpillar, which is the feeding stage, primarily the caterpillars only job is to eat and eat and eat. As the caterpillar grows it splits its skin and sheds it about 4 or 5 times while growing 100 times their size, food eaten at this time is stored and used later as an adult, the pupa which is the transition stage also called a chrysalis. Depending on the species, the pupa may suspended under a branch, hidden in leaves or buried underground. The pupa is protected inside a cocoon of silk, this stage can last from a few weeks, a month or even longer. It may look like nothing is going on but big changes are happening inside. Special cells that were present in the larva are now growing rapidly. They will become the legs, wings, eyes and other parts of the adult butterfly. Many of the original larva cells will provide energy for these growing adult cells and then the adult which is the reproductive stage; this is what most people think of when they think of butterflies. They look very different from the larva. The caterpillar has a few tiny eyes, stubby legs and very short antennae. The adults have long legs, long antennae, and compound eyes. They can also fly by using their large and colorful wings. The one thing they can't do is grow. 

How does a caterpillar rearrange itself into a butterfly? What happens inside a chrysalis or cocoon may not be fully explained but one thing for sure, it’s where the biggest transformation happens and If it is possible for a caterpillar, then how much more and often is should be for a human being.

The year 2023 is a year of transformation and evolving, that is why I enrolled for the Harvest Institute, School of Leadership to help transform me into a better version of myself, a better leader and person. Fundamentally as the eons unwrap and close with the passing of time, what are you doing about yourself, if you are not evolving, chances are your are frustrating Godly potential.

And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit. - 2 Corinthians 3:18