A God Moment For Our Butterfly Angel

Yesterday after some debate about the "safety" (health-wise for Aly) of going into a public venue, William and I decided to take R7 to see the butterflies at the Fort Worth Botanic Gardens, an event that happens only every two years. (Click on butterflies for information.) All of R7 LOVED it.

It was such a delight to spend the afternoon in the tropical rain forest looking at butterflies. Being together as a family on an outing was extra special! Aly was so excited to see butterflies which happen to be one of her favorite things; she was all smiles even before we left.


While looking at the top of the rain forest canopy and all around the surrounding bushes and flowers, our family spied blues and reds and yellows. Butterflies flitted everywhere. Waterfalls enticed the twins to touch and splash. Mason ventured away and inspected closely any resting specimen. Ethan froze himself into a statue with hopes of becoming a perch for any trusting , multi-colored beauty. William taped video of our children enjoying this special treat while I carefully navigated Aly's wheelchair and snapped pictures. It was wonderful.

But Aly had the best time of all! While stopping to watch the different colors flying above our heads, our family experienced a moment that truly must have been God given, as declared by the volunteer who witnessed it with us. All of the sudden a splash of yellow fell from above, and a Citrus Swallowtail butterfly landed on its back, wings open and flat on the ground beside Aly's chair. Much to our astonishment, William and I gasped while Cam and Aly looked down at the helpless butterfly who seemed to die before our eyes. Knowing the rules forbidding any touching of butterflies or plants, William and I stood puzzled about what to do or how to help: The butterfly's position on the ground left it dangerously close to being stepped on by feet or rolled over by Aly's chair.

So as Will turned to catch the volunteer's attention who already was watching, I leaned down and offered the butterfly my finger which it grabbed, much to my surprise and definitely to my most-thankful delight that it was not dead. I carefully showed the giant yellow beauty to our butterfly angel who grinned and watched intensely as her new friend opened and closed it bright yellow wings entertaining and delighting her. Aly shared a special and rare moment with the Swallowtail who danced and flirted with her. And as fast as it all began, the butterfly flew away leaving the surrounding adults in awe of what had occurred. The volunteer told William that she'd never before seen anything like it, and it had to be "God moment" in her opinion.

A definite God moment for our butterfly angel will be treasured by all of R7! Stayed tuned and check back later tonight: I hope to post the video of the actual moment! MR7