Butterflies Are Blooming

Therefore if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come (2 Corinthians 5:17).


This past Saturday Henry, Katie, Jonathan, and I visited the "Butterflies Are Blooming" exhibit at Meijer Gardens. I'm always amazed by the beauty of these creatures and at the creativity of the God who made them. So many colors, wing shapes, and sizes--and so much grace. It's fascinating watching them fly around and land to drink nectar, carefully balancing as they gradually fold their wings together. And you're never quite sure when one lands on you; it seems like something is there, but the sensation is so faint that you have to ask someone if there's a butterfly on your head.

It was a fantastic way to spend a cold but sunny Saturday afternoon, and the whole experience offered up the promise of spring and warmth after what has been a long cold winter. Although butterflies symbolize life and remind me of the verse above, they live only two weeks before they die. Caught up by the romance of it all, I theorized that since they don't get to live very long, their compensation is that they all get to be extremely beautiful. Henry the scientist reminded me that fruit flies don't get to live very long, either, but they don't get to be beautiful, and so my theory is flawed. I still like it.

Katie took over two hundred pictures while she was there, and this is one of her favorites.