Butterfly

The butterfly hatched from his cocoon yesterday.  No, I didn't have anything to do with him breaking free even though I was impatiently waiting for his timing.  I honestly questioned though since he was taking so long that maybe there wasn't life inside the cocoon.

Well, I was wrong.  He is alive and he is beautiful.  Not sure why I call it a "he" but I do.

I looked inside the jar on Monday morning and saw the lonesome cocoon still hanging on.  Then after institute class I came home to find him flapping his wings inside this small jar on my counter.  I find it simply amazing how Heavenly Father through this cocoon was teaching me how our trials and adversities are necessary for our growth.

"Rather than simply passing through trials, we must allow trials to pass through us in ways that sanctify us."

--Elder Neil A Maxwell

Once, I finally understood the concept of adversity and wrote about it, then it was time for the butterfly to be free from the cocoon that kept him bound.  How amazing is His timing and how wonderful Heavenly Father teaches us.

I kept the butterfly in the little container until the girls came home from school so they could see him.  Then we took him outside to set him free.  However, he wasn't too anxious to be out on his own.  He clung to Tara for quite sometime.  He would fly a short distance and land.  Only to be picked up again by someone who wanted to hold him.  After some time the girls decided to leave him alone and they ventured off to another task.

Periodically throughout the evening I would step outside to check to see if he found enough strength and courage to fly higher and farther out from the comfort of our back yard.  He was still in the same place where he last landed.

Last night after dark my motherly instinct kicked in and I was worried about the freezing weather that was expected to hit and wondered if he could survive.  Really?  Like butterflies don't live outside in all kinds of temperatures.  Yet, I felt deep ownership and responsibility to ensure he had the best possible chance at life.

So I decided if he was still in the same spot by the time I went to bed I would bring him in out of the cold and set him free again tomorrow when it warms up during the day.  And sure enough, he was still perched on the same bush in the corner of our yard.

I created a bigger and better home for him out of the largest glass vase I own.  Dallin helped me look up what to feed him. I made some sugar water and placed it in a small dish.  Then, I went outside to retrieve him.  He quickly grasped onto my finger without reservation.  I carefully placed him in his new environment.  He immediately stuck out his really, really long tongue and started drinking the sugar water.  There he sat drinking for what seemed like an hour.  I wondered if I put too much sugar in and so his tongue was stuck.  But, he eventually had enough to eat and moved on to rest on the leaf.

And so did I.  I headed to bed and dreamed about starting a butterfly sanctuary in my back yard.

Today, I waited until mid day with plenty of sunshine to take him back outside.  He wasn't in any hurry to leave my hand.  So I flapped my arm up and down so he could feel the wind beneath his wings giving him encouragement to set off on a new adventure.

And he eventually spread his wings and took flight!