Monday, April 18, 2011

A Year Ago Today; Butterflies Have a Way...

These are pictures from year ago today, April 18.  We had a princess party in our home for Princess Chrissie, the night before her open-heart surgery.  She was so excited, as she thought this was her birthday party since her brother, Sawyer, had his birthday a couple of weeks prior.  We had a cake and sang happy birthday to Chrissie, in celebration of Chrissie's heart being healed the following day.

This was the last time Chrissie was in our home on earth, but she will always be in our hearts.  And we live with great expectation through the hope and salvation offered by Christ our Savior that we will spend eternity with Chrissie in our new home in heaven.  Jesus, come quickly, please. 















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On April 16, 2011, almost a year after our princess last hugged our necks, we were invited to the Emily Ann Theatre in Wimberley to release a butterfly in memory of Chrissie.  The Emily Ann Theatre was founded by a family whose daughter (Emily Ann Rolling) was killed in a car accident just before Christmas in 1996.  They chose joy and helping others over drowning in their grief, and their little project has grown into an enormous community outreach where thousands of people visit each year.  The outdoor theatre is a blessing to more than The Rollings will ever really know, and we are grateful for the support and positive approach to grief that Ann and Norm Rolling have modeled so beautifully. 

These are two butterflies that were presented to us at the Emily Ann Theatre's 13th Annual Butterfly Festival.



The first butterfly that flew away went straight to Selah.  It landed on her sweater, as if to say, "I chose you!  I delight in you!"  It was a very sweet and touching moment.  Out of the thousands of places it could have landed (including hundreds of pieces of luscious cut cantaloupe), it chose Selah's sweater.  (Sorry about the poor quality of the picture.  I flipped my iPhone around to take the pic as quickly as possible so I didn't miss capturing this touching image.)


Meribeth and Mattie holding a piece of cantaloupe with a butterfly on it.

Chrissie's paver at the Emily Ann Theatre. 
She would have been Class of 2024
(Emily Ann Theatre's pavers have the name, class, and date of birth/death.)

Butterflies, you have a way of reminding me that God has a plan to make something beautiful out of something that doesn't begin very pretty.  A fuzzy caterpillar can be cute at times, we can even fall in love with that fuzzy little guy that tickles our arms as it crawls about.  We can feel sad when that fuzzy lil guy hides itself in an ugly white cocoon, but oh the joy we feel when we see God's beautiful transformation when new life comes out of that tomb, fluttering about with a new body.  The old fuzzy lil caterpillar is gone, but it's been made into a beautiful new creature, with wings, a creature that soars and does so much more than the limited abilities of a cute little caterpillar.  Butterflies, you have a way of making me smile, when I see you fluttering about, without a care in the world, dancing amongst the flowers, floating in the wind, and choosing to land upon a little baby's sweater, just to say hi for a moment.  Butterflies, you remind me of our princess, with her new body, floating about heaven, dancing with Jesus, without a care in the world.  A beautiful new creature who we will one day spend all eternity with.  Thank you, butterflies, for reminding me of God's miracles, His plan for new life, His way of making beauty from ashes.  Thank you, God, for surrounding us with your love, your beauty, your goodness, your miracles.

We love you and miss you, Princess Chrissie.
We can't wait to join you in heaven, baby girl!!!









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