THE BUTTERFLY WHISPERER by Sara
Etgen-Baker
I
entered Whispering Pines where I found the large French doors of the day room
flung wide open; the air—light and fresh—gently blew the long, crisp, white
curtains to and fro. I walked through
the doors—the morning sunshine shimmering through the pine trees—and saw Pop
sitting on the verandah surrounded by a rabble of butterflies.
He
was slumped over in his wheelchair, his limp left arm tied to the chair’s
railing. He looked up and waved with his
good hand. “Sara!” he called with delight. I caught my breath and fought back the
tears.
“Re…re…remember? He flashed me a smile. “Bu…bu…butterflies!” Since his stroke, Pop couldn’t form full,
flowing sentences—just words and even those came out slowly.
“Yes,
I remember!” I squeezed his hands. “When one of your monarchs emerged from its
chrysalis, you showed me how to guide it to walk on my finger. That was my first memorable butterfly
encounter!” I scooted a chair next to
him; we held hands, and the hours imperceptibly passed as we watched the
butterflies.
I
was 35 when my father first introduced me to his butterflies. “Why are you raising butterflies?” I asked.
“I witness grace.”
“Grace?” I chuckled for even then Pop was a
man of few words. “I don’t understand.”
“After
the chrysalis is formed, the butterfly faithfully waits in its dark cocoon—unable
to move, to see, or to care for itself.
But in that mysterious darkness, it’s not afraid. It bears the unbearable not knowing and trusts
in something bigger that’s calling it to change. That’s grace.”
We
continued watching butterflies on the verandah until the afternoon sun told me
it was time to go. I kissed Pop on the
cheek. “Gra…gra…grace,” he said. “Stroke is gra…gra…grace. I not a…a…afraid.”
Pop’s
words soothed my broken heart. Although
his stroke had wrapped him in a dark cocoon where he was unable to move, to
speak, or care for himself, Pop wasn’t afraid.
He was bearing the unbearable not knowing and trusting in something
bigger that was calling him to change.
Grace had strengthened him.
