Happiness is a butterfly which, when pursued, is always beyond our grasp, but which if you will sit down quietly, may alight upon you. (Nathaniel Hawthorne)
Have you ever chased a butterfly? Without a butterfly net? Usually just as you almost have it, the butterfly flits away to a new spot where it will wave its wings at you. It’s butterfly season here on the farm – especially over in the hayfield where the grasses and wild flowers grow tall. I’ve given up chasing butterflies except with my camera, but at times I like to imagine they flutter along with me as I walk. A winged companion for a few steps before a sweet smelling flower draws them away. 
Butterflies are self propelled flowers. ~R.H. Heinlein
I think most can agree the Lord gave us a very special gift when He gave us butterflies as this beautiful quote says.
Butterflies are God’s confetti, thrown upon the Earth in celebration of His love. ~K. D’Angelo
But wait a minute. Do you have the same feeling about caterpillars? Those wormlike creatures that crawl around on the ground and eat everything in sight, maybe even your favorite flower bush?
“We delight in the beauty of the butterfly, but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty.” – Maya Angelou
“There is nothing in a caterpillar that tells you it’s going to be a butterfly.” ~Richard Buckminster Fulle
We can watch a caterpillar inch along the ground and up a stalk to find the perfect leaf to begin the butterfly transformation. You have to admit that the butterfly goes through an amazing transformation from lowly bug to beauty on wing, floating in the breezes. But the Lord knew what was going to happen. And He knows what is going to happen with us too. He knows how we as people can change and be transformed. Where we may see a person of little worth, the Lord looks with a different eye. He knows the beauty of His creation.
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. 1 Corinthians 12:7 (ESV)
Caption Game – What was Marley thinking?
Thanks to all of you for the great captions you suggested for my picture of my new dog, Marley staring up at the sky. Your captions made me smile. I liked the one about Marley smelling bacon and seeing Superman or even better Superdog. Here’s one I thought of that nobody mentioned. “Made you look.”
Now what caption would you give the picture up top of my granddaughter looking at the butterfly on her arm? Share your idea in a comment here on this post and you’ll get an entry in a drawing to win a choice of one of my books along with a grab bag book by a different author. If you left one of the neat captions on the dog picture, you can get another entry to increase your chances of winning by leaving a caption on this picture too. Besides, it’s fun and great imagination exercise for our brains.
So what caption do you suggest for the girl and the butterfly?
Thanks for reading. I’m looking forward to your captions. Now I need to think up one too.
Comments 45
My joy, my friend, my butterfly!
Joy in God’s small wonders.
Author
That’s a good caption, Lucy. We do need to pause in our busy days and take joy in those small wonders around us. A sunrise. Wildflowers. A child’s smile. A dog’s wagging tail. A cat purring. So many blessings surround us.
What a lovely picture! Your granddaughter is holding her arms like bent wings….maybe ready to fly?…..”ready, set, go!”
I love butterflies. I have them scattered around my house in wallhangings, photo frames, tucked in a bouquet of flowers and even a few little 3-D stick-on ones on a lamp shade.
Author
You are definitely a true butterfly lover, Lavon. I wrote a book sort of staring butterflies once for young teens called Only in Sunshine. It was about a girl who refused to kill a butterfly for a required insect collection. It was fun reading up on butterflies while I was writing that story years ago.
My granddaughter might have been ready to do some flying with the butterfly. She has since become a gymnast and can do some flying tumbles.