PRACTICE: What do you instinctively do when dealing with hurt and disappoint? Write it down. There is a concept of cocooning that has emerged in recent years. Many new parents are choosing to “cocoon” with their newborn as a means of protecting the baby from such diseases as whooping cough etc. It is a vaccination strategy. Simple stated – anyone who can’t prove that their vaccines are current for certain diseases that would prove problematic for the newborn, is not allowed in the home until the child has been properly vaccinated – usually about six months. This concept is controversial because who doesn’t want to see and hold the newest member of the family. This is a form of social distancing /isolation/quarantine for the parents and the baby. The baby was in a safe protective environment in the mother’s womb. At birth, the environment suddenly changes. The baby is not physically prepared for what the world has to offer – good, bad and in between. The parents choose to introduce their offspring to the brave new world with the necessary immune system to survive. However, this vaccine strategy is temporary. If the entry into the world beyond the four walls of the home (cocoon) never happens, the baby’s growth and emotional development stalls.
If we honestly take stock of our lives, we will probably find that we have had periods of cocooning that led to a place of being stalled. We went into the cocoon because we were consumed with guilt, or we had been hurt or we were filled with a restlessness of the soul. The cocoon was a place for temporary protection and renewal. At some point comfort set in, and the cocoon became a place of secure stagnation. The temporary became permanent and emotional wellbeing suffered. When healthy parents and newborn cocoon, it is for a designated season. There is a recognition by the parents, family and friends, that the cocoon is time limited and for a specific reason. Sometimes our hurt is so deep, so profound that it is necessary to spin the proverbial silky pouch around ourselves/to go into isolation for a period/to distance ourselves from a person or thing. Doing so allows the wisdom from within and revelation from others to reboot, rejuvenate and resurrect us to whole and healed individuals. Stay there long enough but don’t stay indefinitely – permanent cocooning leads to death. Ephesians 1:17
PONDER THIS THOUGHT – Grudge holding is a form of cocooning.
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