A few years ago someone gave Sammy a butterfly for his birthday. Well not a butterfly so much as a caterpillar that would become a Monarch Butterfly. He fed it milk weed leaves. He stared at it for hours. He named it Lukey (after Luke Skywalker of course). It turned into a butterfly a few weeks later in our living room. It landed on Sam's head and stayed there while its wings finished drying.
We set it free in our driveway. It sat on Sammy's finger unsure of what to do next. Then, suddenly it took flight. zipping around our trees and flowers. It seems elated to finally be a butterfly.
Every so often we see a large Monarch in our yard and Sammy calls to it. He will chase it around saying "Hey Lukey, Hey boy!" It makes Sam's day every time he sees one, no matter where we are, he assumes it's Lukey.
It makes me think about Sammy. What will he be like in Heaven when he sheds the cocoon and becomes the butterfly he is inside? What will that be like for all of us? I feel like every butterfly I see reminds me that someday, Sammy and everyone else, will be free. Free from the sensory overloads, the anxiety, the stress, and the fear. A place where I can hold Emma. Somewhere I can see those who have gone before me. I look forward to that day, but Lord, not yet. Please
