Butterflies and Purple Hearts

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wo windows in my sister’s room overlook the backyard of my parents’ home.  We affectionately refer to the backyard as the north forty and the front yard as the south forty.  Once a week, and sometimes twice if there has been good rainfall, my parents spend several hours mowing, weeding, and trimming their lawn.  Something always needs tending and the work, it seems, is never finished.

Several years ago, while I was home for the Fourth of July holiday, my dad decided to cook some pork ribs in his smoker.  The process took most of the day but when it was over, it was definitely worth the wait.  After supper we carved a watermelon and had a good time just sitting and talking, catching up on all that had happened since our last visit together.

As the afternoon turned into evening, my mom and I were in the backyard, that’s the north forty, discussing the different kinds of plants she and dad have growing in the various flowerbeds surrounding the house.  In the middle of our conversation, I happened to look at Heather’s window and what I saw caused me to stop and think for a long time. 

Hanging there in the window were two stained glass ornaments that are very familiar to anyone who knows Heather well.   The two ornaments are a butterfly and a purple heart and they have been there in her window since they moved into the house.  Each morning the rays of the sun illumine them and cast beautiful shadows in Heather’s room.  The butterfly is important because when she was smaller her room was decorated completely in butterflies.  The purple heart represents two aspects of her character.  Purple is her favorite color, hands down and she is all heart!  Nothing speaks to me more of my sister than these two ornaments hanging in her window.

But there was also a lesson to be learned in Heather’s window, a lesson about God and His faithfulness to us and His love for us.  The butterfly is reminiscent of 2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”  When we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior our lives changed.  The old sin nature passed away and we emerged with a new nature and a new relationship with God.  The caterpillar goes into the cocoon an rather ugly worm but it emerges as a beautiful creature, completely changed from its former life.  This is how much God loved us, He sent Jesus to die for our sins so that we could walk with Him in the newness of life and be changed into something entirely new.

The Purple Heart is a symbol of those who have been wounded during wartime in the service of their country.  At times friends, family, and situations beyond our control wound our hearts.  Often we wonder if God is aware of our pain or if He even cares about our suffering.  David had these same feelings and he expressed them in Psalm 109:22, “For I am poor and needy, And my heart is wounded within me.”  In this Psalm, David cries out to the Lord because he has been wounded by those around him. They have treated him unjustly and have spread slanderous lies about him.  David, however, does not give up.  He knows that God is aware of his situation.  He understands that God cares for him and David knows that the same God who delivered him from Goliath will work in every difficult moment of his life.

The truths found in these two scriptures apply to our lives as well.  God provided a way for us to enjoy a new life and a new relationship with Him.  All things become new when we know Jesus and when we allow him to control all aspects of our lives.  Moreover, God is always near us, especially during moments of sorrow, when we feel all alone, and when no once seems to care about our pain and suffering.  God sees us, He hears us, and He cares.   Butterflies and purple hearts in a window, what reminders of God’s love and faithfulness can be found in your life today?