Chrysalis in itself is difficult to describe. Not the technical definition of what happens, but what it is. Chrysalis is a special experience because so much love and work go into creating it that can be felt over the course of the whole weekend. One of the most important parts of a chrysalis weekend are all the people who pour their heart into it, before during and after. In preparation for this event everyone who is on the team has monthly meetings where they pray for the flight and the incoming girls, they preview all the talks that will be given over the weekend and they critique them so they can say what they need to say. Every person on the team is important in making chrysalis effective, everyone who is in the main room with the girls, everyone who is behind the scenes, everyone who is in the kitchen and everyone who God called to be on the flight.
What does it mean to me?
My sophomore year in high school I went on my own Chrysalis flight, it was so different from anything I had ever experienced. I came home thinking that it was amazing and that no other experience could ever match it. In some senses I was right, although I could not imagine the connection I found with God by working a flight and being a speaker. I grew up in a religious family, we went to church, I went to vacation bible school, I knew the stories, but this was different. It was about knowing God in a more personal way and involving him in every aspect of my life. I have worked two flights before this most current one and on both of them I was on the music team. This meant that I spent a decent amount of time not in the conference room practicing and I had less interaction with the girls on the flight. This year I was a youth table lead, so I interacted with all the girls and had more in-depth conversation with the girls at my table.
Being a youth table lead was a new experience for me and honestly, it terrified me at first. I was responsible for helping high school girls find their faith and better understand God. I was afraid I would not bond with the girls, or I would say the wrong thing and they would hate the weekend, I overestimated how much of the weekend was based on my influence alone. Over the course of the preparation and the weekend itself the team prays, "Not I but God." This means that everything we do should be not for the gratification of ourselves but for God. I spent a lot of time worrying about being youth table lead and being a speaker, I did not yet understand that everything I would say would be because someone in that conference room needed to hear. I gave a talk on Christian Growth through study and how to involve the study of God in everyday life. Standing up there it did not feel like it was me speaking, I felt God talking through me, saying his words and sharing his love with everyone in that room.
Now all of this is not to say that I was the epitome of perfection, over the course of the weekend or in life. It simply means that I found something beyond myself that I believe in and that makes life better. I could see my own flaws in the worries of the girls on the flight and I could be a conduit for what they needed to hear to be better in their own lives.