A Butterfly Moment

Every now and then you see a butterfly moment.  You may be setting out on the deck or mowing your yard and one graces you with a fly by. You stop to watch and not every time but once in a while your visitor stops nearby on a flower or perhaps even on your shoulder or nose. Just for a moment you see the detailed splendor and then they are off to impress someone else with God’s wonderful creative beauty.

I had a butterfly moment recently. With friends I had stopped at Cracker Barrel for a piece of pie. We had an hour to wait for another friend and conversation over pie sounded like a good idea. The waitress even added ice-cream to the pie and brought along coffee. That is when the butterfly moment began.

I first noticed the man as he came to the table next to ours in the dining area. He was pushing his wife along in a wheel chair. You could hear him describing things to her in a comforting assuring voice. They settled into the table and ordered their meal. After ordering he helped her with her sweater and put her napkin around her neck. It was clear she suffered from affects of some form of paralysis. He gently told her how nice the room looked and what a good time he was having. Then the meal came and he moved over beside her and fed her dinner.

As I went to pay for our dessert the thought crossed my mind to pick up this gentle man and his wife’s ticket. As I stood at the register my friend beat me to the idea and paid for their meal first. In our rush to do an act of kindness we had both forgotten to tip our waitress so I returned to the table. It was then that the butterfly moment occurred.

The man was told by his waitress that some one had paid for his meal. In near tears he asked her, “but why?” Then taking hold of his wife’s hand and said to her, “Isn’t the Lord good, honey!” I had to leave the room quickly as tears were coming to my eyes.

I told my friend, “Now that is a man.”

Somehow a butterfly made it inside Cracker Barrel and displayed God’s rich beauty for just moment to those who were watching. A loving husband thankful for the provision of a meal as he cared for his wife.  As I saw it all I had to admit, “Isn’t the Lord good!”