After failing to get paint to stick longer than a year and a half, we had called in the pros to make our house look presentable again. We chose to add a little color from the drab white that it had been for years. The first leaves on the elm tree in our front yard and in our neighbor’s yard are showing the first signs of the season. Much like the house, they don’t get much color, but drop sooner than any of the others in the neighborhood. The first few leaves slowly descended on my wife and I as we inspected the work on our house.

Yesterday was a beautiful day. The sun shown down on us and our newly painted house, giving us the feeling of what this house would look like in the future. As we gazed on the house, a butterfly greeted us, fluttering around the two of us for quite a while. It seemed to like the bright yellow polo shirt I had worn that day, as it took several pauses, thinking of using my shoulder as a perch.

Eventually the butterfly that had greeted us landed on the small pine tree standing next to us. As it spread its wings, we realized that we had never seen this type of butterfly before. Apart from the usual orange Monarch butterflies that grace the area, this one was blue. A beautiful, welcoming blue. After some research, we found that this butterfly is not often seen around Kansas City. Most of them are found in Florida. This little guy was certainly unique to the area. We began to tear up.

Butterflies have always been a sign of peace, tranquility, and healing. Their gorgeous colors and playful flight seem to bring a smile to anyone’s face. Butterfly gardens are often planted around memorials to help bring that sense of peace and healing. Butterflies have also been rather significant in the lives of my wife’s family. Becca’s mom had designed and made a stained-glass blue butterfly for a hospice in her town. The thought being that the butterfly (which became a theme inside the hospice) brought that sense of peace in the most trying of times. But the meaning goes deeper. Numerous times during funerals for family members, a  lone butterfly seems to pay a visit. A friend of Becca’s died of breast cancer some years ago, she loved butterflies. Everyone still remembers the butterfly that flew around, touching nearly everyone during the service. Becca’s grandmother passed on last year. At her funeral, a single blue butterfly paid the family a visit. With nearly every death in the family, we’ve had a butterfly pay us a visit.

As the tears welled up in our eyes, we both knew the significance of this beautiful butterfly. Autum was upon us, the leaves were falling, and life was changing. Despite the fact that we were both deeply saddened by the loss of the child in Becca’s womb, God had sent this beautiful blue butterfly to remind us that he’s still there. He still loves us, and we know that he loves the little one we never got to see. As we watched this beautiful creature circle us once more and go on it’s way, we knew that he was in control. No matter the changing seasons in our lives, he’s shown us that his love continues…. all thanks to a little extra color brought to us by one blue butterfly.