Lynda
McKinney Lambert is a retired fine arts and humanities professor from Geneva
College, Beaver Falls, PA. She
resides in a small village in western Pennsylvania with her husband, Bob, 4 cats
and 2 dogs. Lynda is the author of
Concerti: Psalms for the Pilgrimage, published by Kota Press. She writes
articles on the humanities, contemporary poetry and inspirational
human interest stories. Her teaching career took her to Europe each
summer where she taught drawing and writing to college students. She also
taught a course in Puerto Rico every spring semester for the college. Lynda
loves to write, knit. and travel.
A Visitation from Butterflies
When I see a butterfly in a summer field, it brings back a specific
memory. The impressions are as vivid as they were 9 years ago when I
witnessed something
miraculous! My rare observation was not in warm weather, nor was it outside in a
felid of flowers. What I witnessed took place on a frigid winter day in a large
urban hospital room in the Intensive Care Unit.
I watched quietly while two butterflies played together in the
stillness of thin air, as though time had vanished. This vision I saw happened
unexpectedly, just a couple of months after I lost most of my eyesight to a rare
disease. I had not yet had any rehabilitation or training and could no longer
see my own face in a mirror.
I lingered for hours at the bedside of our daughter, Heidi Melinda.
She was in a medically induced coma following surgery to remove two cancers. She
had ovarian and kidney cancer removed. But, after the surgery it looked like she
was in serious trouble. She was on life support, not breathing on her own. Her
lungs were failing.
Heidi was motionless. Tubes sprouted out of her body, up to the
ceiling or attached to machines on both sides of her bed. Watching over Heidi, I
felt like I was living in a netherworld. I seemed to be viewing my daughter
through a sheer gray curtain that no one could pass through. I felt
helpless.
Heidi’s coma lasted for 2 weeks. Nurses and doctors were at her side
or directly outside her transparent room as they worked on the computers
continuously
I sat in a chair at the foot of her bed. My blurry eyes tried to
focus on her. I realized suddenly that Heidi and I had two unexpected visitors.
They did not come in through the door.
I watched in silence as 2 enormous butterflies emerged from the
atmosphere near her feet. I saw them distinctly, in every detail and in full
color. I saw them closer than I ever saw a butterfly before this day. The
brilliantly vibrant pair flew gently, gracefully, forward. They appeared to be playing with each
other as butterflies do when you see them gliding and hovering around the
dancing blossoms in a field on a summer day.
These two butterflies were a deep red - crimson. Each one was the
size of my hand. They were bright, velvety and large. In all my life, I have
never seen a butterfly as large as this mysterious pair. I watched them and it
was as though they danced together. Yet, the frolicking butterflies were the
most normal scene I could ever experience.
I knew they were not ordinary butterflies! This was a miraculous moment; something
from another time and place. Heidi's body became the field over which the
butterflies zig-zagged back and forth. They moved so elegantly towards her head.
I watched them for what felt like a long time but I believe it was probably only
seconds. The dance of the red butterflies was like an eternal moment, when time
did not exist
They gave me hope for my daughter’s recovery. I sensed that they were
a pictorial symbol of the Holy Spirit. I felt an inner peace and divine
assurance at that moment
Spring sunshine brings us the beginning of flower gardens that will
turn into a riot of vibrant colors we will enjoy until the end of the autumn
season.
Time passes though, and in our joy of the moment, we are unaware when
the days begin growing shorter. Months and years pass. We barely notice the
changes. The glorious dance of the butterflies, insects, and wild flowers
gradually changes. There is a final
time of blazing colors when everything intensifies. Autumn, we’ll recall,
brought a different kind of landscape to our vision. It was a beauty, more
intense than our summer days had been.
Sometimes, a person will mention how they suddenly saw a butterfly
that appeared unexpectedly after a loved one died. They appear without warning, and often
they fly around a person. One friend told me how she experienced a head butting
from a butterfly one day. It was as though the delicate insect was trying to get
attention. It seems the butterfly
is trying to communicate with a human. Butterflies arrive in pairs at times. I
wonder if they are exceptionally bright and larger-than-life. Do they appear to
be so otherworldly, like you could not possibly miss seeing them? In my experience, I knew for sure they
were not of this world.
Traditionally,
it is believed butterflies are harbingers of renewal; transformation; healing;
Since that day when I saw the
butterflies, I began to use the motif in some of my art works. It’s an ancient
symbol with deep roots as a metaphor in folk lore and the narrative accounts of
antiquity. Inspiration and ideas
flow or surround us as we seem to stand in an invisible, yet powerfully present,
landscape.
Many writers from a variety
of cultural and religious backgrounds speak of the awareness of divinity they
experience when they reflect on nature.
Throughout Christian
history, there has always been a theme of recognizing the work of God when we
view nature.
One of the most memorable
hymns of all time is
“How Great Thou Art.”
(2nd stanza)
When
through the woods and forest glades I wander
And hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees;
When I look down from lofty mountain grandeur
And hear the brook and feel the gentle breeze;
Then sings my soul, my Savior God to Thee; How great Thou art!
How great Thou art! Then sings my soul, my Savior God to Thee
How great Thou art! How great Thou art!
And hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees;
When I look down from lofty mountain grandeur
And hear the brook and feel the gentle breeze;
Then sings my soul, my Savior God to Thee; How great Thou art!
How great Thou art! Then sings my soul, my Savior God to Thee
How great Thou art! How great Thou art!
People of all ages
expressed thoughts about butterflies.
The Mandarin Chinese word
for butterfly means “seventy years.”
Therefore, in their culture butterflies are a symbol of a long life.
Japanese culture says the
butterfly is thought to be representative
of maidens and marital
bliss. Many Japanese families use the butterfly image in the family crest
design.
Germans unique belief is
that butterflies can often be found hovering around milk pails or butter churns.
The German word for butterfly is “schmetterling.” This is one of my favorite
German words! It’s actually derived from the Czech word, “Smetana,” meaning
“cream.”
In literature we find
numerous references to butterflies from ancient times to the present.
Traces of butterfly imagery
are ingrained deeply into western civilization. Ancient Greeks believed a
butterfly was the soul of someone who had died. Their word for butterfly is
“Psyche.” Translated, it means
“soul.”
Early Greek art features images of butterflies on vases. Butterflies are featured in their in
mythological tales. It is recognition of the presence of a soul. We are more
than a physical body, but we possess a soul that is invisible and eternal. We
can read from the beginning of the Bible in genesis, that humans were created to
live in a beautiful garden and to tend it. We were created to be friends with
God; we were made to live forever with God.
We can find references to
the butterfly as a soul in the lore of Russia and Ireland. There, the
butterflies are always symbolic of a celebration and resurrection.
One important aspect of
Christian faith is the hope of resurrection.
The symbol of the butterfly
is an important image to Christians. You will find this image used particularly
at Easter when we think of the life cycle of the butterfly. We get the picture
that signifies how Jesus was put to death and after three days, he arose. Every
person who has accepted Jesus into his/her life is filled with the resurrection
power of Christ.
At Christian funerals and
memorial services there will usually be references to a butterfly as an example
of how we all will shed our body at death, and then we will come alive again
with Christ. This is the message of resurrection power – because Christ died,
we, too have been given the gift of eternal life when we accept Jesus into our
own life.
Let’s take a look at
1st Corinthians and we’ll find a marvelous
promise.
"So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is
sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; it is sown in dishonor, it is
raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; it is sown a
natural body, it is raised a spiritual body." (1 Corinthians
15:42-44)
Don’t be surprised one day
if you see a shimmering butterfly flying around you in an unusual way. It could
be a time when you feel helpless or broken, like I did. It may happen at a time
when you least expect a visitation or are thinking nobody cares about you. .
Just smile!
Heidi remains free of ovarian and kidney cancers.
~Lynda McKinney Lambert