I had another experience with a butterfly before my son died in 1996. It was just a day or two before he died. I came home from lunch and shopping with my Mom and Brianna. My daughter Bri was just three at the time, and in her car seat in the back seat. As I opened the sliding door on my van to get her out, I noticed a very large yellow and black butterfly lying on it's side on the garage floor. It was alive, and as I picked it up to show Brianna, it perched on my finger. I showed it to Brianna while I was unbuckling her carseat with my other hand. I helped her down out of the car, and said: "Lets take it outside and see if it can still fly. It had a large half moon shaped "bite mark" hole in one wing, so I was not at all sure it could fly. We walked around to the side yard by the garage, and I swung up my hand. The butterfly soared upward and away from us, flying as well as any I had seen. It landed far above in a cottonwood tree. We then went into the house, and forgot about the butterfly. I didn't think of it until sometime after Jimmy had died. I realized that it had been a sign to us. It amazed me that even with such an injury to it's wing, the butterfly could still soar. I think that is true of all of us...life is full of pain and injury, none of us come through it unscathed...yet we can all still soar.
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I'm so sorry for your losses! I just read your posts a few night ago and found your experiences to be interesting. Then tonight I was reading about the miners who were rescued. A white butterfly saved the lives of two men! They slowed down to view it and the tunnel collapsed in front of them:
ReplyDeleteFranklin Lobos, 53, and Jorge Galleguillos, the 11th miner rescued, credit their stop to look at a small, white butterfly with saving their lives. They were in a truck deep in the mine when they spotted the butterfly, and when they slowed to look closer, the mine began collapsing in front of them. While his family waved balloons and flags and cheered loudly, Lobos stepped out of the capsule and greeted his wife, who handed him a soccer ball. Lobos, a former player on the Chilean national team, kicked the ball around before being greeted by Pinera.]
I am amazed at this story....I didn't know about it before! I believe that the butterfly is a beautiful symbol of re-birth....kind of fitting that it would play a part in that amazing drama in Chile! Thanks for writing, and for telling me this story! (It re-affirms my faith as I was getting quite discouraged!)
ReplyDeleteThanks again, Shelley