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If anyone desires a wish to come true they must first capture a butterfly and whisper that wish to it. As a butterfly can make no sound, the butterfly can not reveal the wish to anyone but the Great Spirit who hears and sees all. In gratitude for giving the beautiful butterfly freedom, the Great Spirit will always grant the wish. So, according to legend, by making a wish and giving the butterfly its freedom, the wish will be taken to the heavens to be granted. We have gathered to grant this couple all our best wishes and are about to set these butterflies free in trust that all these wishes will be granted.
NEW BEGINNINGS A FLIGHT IN THE SUN That first bright step into the sunshine of life begins with the opening of the family cocoon. The caterpillar becomes a butterfly spreading her wings into the world. What she is today is but a tiny mirror. of the transformation that is yet to come. For with time, love, humor and warmth She is an ever changing masterpiece. Whether as wife, mother, career woman or all, she will find her center of peace. A place that is hers and hers alone, the essence of what she is and will be. Using the instincts that each of us have to find the good in each other. to be a caring friend, lover, helper and playmate, to listen and share, to laugh and to cry. With loving support of family and friends, she takes flight down an unknown road towards her future, like the rising of the sun in the east. Each day filled with new beginnings. Finding excitement and challenge at each new turn. Her flight through life filled with many happy adventures and memories to put in her book of life, as the sun moves along that steady path across the sky. When the sun at last begins to set in the west and her flight nears its end, she can look back along her path and know that she has been everything she can be
~Nathaniel Hawthorne There is nothing in a caterpillar that tells you it's going to be a butterfly. ~Richard Buckminster Fuller "Just living is not enough," said the butterfly, "one must have sunshine, freedom and a little flower." ~Hans Christian Anderson But these are flowers that fly and all but sing: And now from having ridden out desire They lie closed over in the wind and cling Where wheels have freshly sliced the April mire. ~Robert Frost, "Blue-Butterfly Day" Love is like a butterfly: It goes where it pleases and it pleases wherever it goes. ~Author Unknown I've watched you now a full half-hour; Self-poised upon that yellow flower And, little Butterfly! Indeed I know not if you sleep or feed. How motionless! - not frozen seas More motionless! and then What joy awaits you, when the breeze Hath found you out among the trees, And calls you forth again! ~William Wordsworth, "To a Butterfly" Flowers and butterflies drift in color, illuminating spring. ~Author Unknown We are like butterflies who flutter for a day and think it is forever. ~Carl Sagan This great purple butterfly, In the prison of my hands, Has a learning in his eye Not a poor fool understands. ~William Butler Yeats, "Another Song of a
Fool" Know thyself! A maxim as pernicious as it is ugly. Whoever observes himself arrests his own development. A caterpillar who wanted to know itself well would never become a butterfly. ~Andre Gide Bees sip honey from flowers and hum their thanks when they leave. The gaudy butterfly is sure that the flowers owe thanks to him. ~Rabindranath Tagore, /Stray Birds/ We delight in the beauty of the butterfly, but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty. ~Maya Angelou The fluttering of a butterfly's wings can effect climate changes on the other side of the planet. ~Paul Erlich A million butterflies rose up from South America, All together, and flew in a gold storm toward Spain... ~Winfield Townley Scott, "Annual Legend"
many tears, But be thankful we had so many good years. I gave you my love, and you can only guess How much you've given me in happiness. I thank you for the love that you have shown, But now it is time I traveled on alone. So grieve for me a while, if grieve you must Then let your grief be comforted by trust That it is only for a while that we must part, So treasure the memories within your heart. I won't be far away for life goes on. And if you need me, call and I will come. Though you can't see or touch me, I will be near And if you listen with your heart, you'll hear All my love around you soft and clear And then, when you come this way alone, I'll greet you with a smile and a "Welcome Home". Unknown
Messenger of God
Oh, Little Butterfly, Messenger of God, When I see you in the sky I cannot help but nod. You bring me respite From grief and despair Every time I see you Sailing through the air. You renew my faith In all God's wondrous plan, And I know it's all in FAITH, Not in what I understand. Kathryn Poland (4-12-01)
I AM NOT THERE
Do not stand by my grave and weep For I am not there. I do not sleep. I am a thousand winds that blow. I am diamonds that glint on snow. I am the sunlight on ripened grain. I am the gentle autumn rain. When you awaken in the morning hush I am the swift uplifting rush of butterflies in joyous flight.
I am the soft stars that shine at night. Do not stand at my grave and cry. I am not there. I did not die. Unknown
Butterfly Benediction
May the morning sun caress you, The rains of change refresh you, And the gentle breeze of His Spirit Lift the wings of your transformation. by Richard D. Breen, copyright 2003 Dedicated to my mother, Frances F. Breen, 81
there are some wishes that need to be expressed out loud. To those that have been touched by the disease we are helping to fight today, We wish the caregivers strength and tranquility, and thank them for their gifted labor of love. We wish the survivors a long and happy life, and thank them for showing us how to fight with courage and determination. We wish those currently fighting the battle energy and hope, and thank them for showing us what true bravery is all about. And finally, we wish the victims peace and love, and thank them for the joy and happiness they brought to us. With this symbolic gesture, we honor those that have left us and encourage those left behind to continue the fight On the Wings of Hope. Legend As you release this butterfly in honor of me, know that I'm with you and will always be. Hold a hand, say a prayer, close your eyes and see me there. Although you may feel a bit torn apart, please know that I'll be forever in your heart. Now fly away butterfly as high as you can go, I'm right there with you more than you know. By Jill Haley
Jenn, The Butterfly Box From Dan & Zane Greathouse: A couple of weeks ago, we filled an order for a 22 year-old's funeral, and we received this funeral poem. "A butterfly lights beside us like a sunbeam. And for a brief moment its glory and beauty belong to our world. But then it flies on again, and though we wish it could have stayed, we feel so lucky to have seen it." On the back of the paper it says: "Today we celebrate life with the release of butterflies. The animals you have been given will emerge from their envelopes and alight on your hand for a moment before flying off. Butterflies, a symbol of life, and freedom, were always special to (name). When instructed, please open the envelope and allow the butterfly to emerge on its own. It may take a few moments for the beautiful creature to adjust to the light and temperature before it flies off. These animals are natives, will thrive and insure the continuation of their species, keeping memory alive."
My Dearest Daughter
It's been two years since you were suddenly taken away. My memory of that day is no longer clear, but I know the pain can not be washed away with tears. You are everywhere I look, the sky, the clouds, a running brook, waves in the ocean. Now in God's arms you are safe.
Never again will I see your smiling face. But this photograph in my mind will never be erased. In time, I'll see you in that Wonderful Place. Until then my Daughter, your Spirit is with us always. Soar with the Butterflies and Sleep with the Angels.
So have a Merry Christmas and wipe away that tear. Remember, I am spending Christmas with Jesus Christ this year As the Lord had finished creating the earth, something was missing so he chose pieces from all the flowers, threw them into the sky and blew life into them and the butterflies were born. From an Easter service attended by Penny Wilson of Monarch Meadows.
Finally one of the caterpillars gathered its friends together. I have an idea. The next one of us who climbs to the tops of the trees must promise to come back and tell us where he or she went and why. We promise they all said solemnly. One spring day not long after the caterpillar who had suggested the plan found himself climbing high up into the trees. Up up and up he went, higher and higher into the trees. Before he knew what was happening he had broken through the canopy of leaves into the warm sunlight and fell into a deep sleep. When he awoke he looked about in surprise. He couldnt believe what he saw. A startling change had come over his old body. He now had beautiful wings! Even as he struggled he felt an impulse to move his wings. The warmth of the sun soon dried the moisture from his new body. He moved his wings again and suddenly found himself flying into the blue sky. He had become a butterfly. Swooping and dipping in great curves he flew through the air. He felt exhilarated in the new atmosphere. By and by the new butterfly landed on a leaf to rest. Then it was that he chanced to look below to the bottom of the meadow. Why, he was right above his old friends the caterpillars! There they were, crawling around and munching on Milkweed, just as he had been doing before. Then the butterfly remembered his promise. Without thinking the butterfly darted down. He landed on a flower and looked into the grass. Now that he was a butterfly he could no longer go back.
I cant return! he said in dismay. At least I tried, but I cant keep my promise. Even if I could go back, not one of the caterpillars would know me in my new body. I guess Ill just have to wait until they become butterflies too. Then theyll understand what has happened to me and where I went. And the butterfly winged off happily into its new world of sun and air. Dear God, please remember those who have left the meadow we live inand remember us who are still here.
of shade? Oh! But Jesus' love illumined every dark and fearful glade. And he came himself to meet me in that way so hard to tread. And with Jesus' arm to lean on, could have no doubt or dread. Then you must not grieve so sorely, For I love you dearly still: Try to look beyond earth's shadows, Pray to trust our Father's will. There is work still waiting for you. So you must not idly stand: Do it now, while life remaineth - You shall rest in Jesus' land when that work is all completed. He will gently call you home: Oh, the rapture of that meeting, Oh, the joy to see you come! My Beautiful Baby I thought that the night you died was the worst of my life. But that night I was able to hold and kiss you. I have wished every day and night since then to be able to do the same, but can only dream of it now. Some nights my dreams are so real, I awaken expecting to find you here with me. Dreams and memories can make you sad for not having future times together but they can also bring back happier times like the day that did bring us together 44 years ago
Dear Son It's been seven years since that tragic day. Physical tragedy brings pain and suffering, but for us Christians there is a supernatural strength that brings us hope, courage, and joy to keep perspective the reality that since we are immortals in the will of God, our meeting in Heaven is waiting for us: yes, one day we will be together again. It is our blessed hope, and because we were saved in this hope, we eagerly wait for our new bodies, bodies that will never be sick again and will never die. With Love Today We thought of you with love today, But this is nothing new, We thought of you yesterday and the days before that too. We think of you in silence and often speak you name. All we have now are our memories, and you picture in a frame. It broke our hearts to lose you, But you didn't go alone. A part of us went with you The day God took you home.
Death is not the end. Death can never be the end. Death is the road Life is the traveler The Soul is the guide Our mind thinks of death Our heart thinks of life Our Soul of immortality.
Beautiful Memories
A Bouquet of beautiful memories, Sprayed with a million tears, Wishing God could have spared you, If just for a few more years. We love you, we miss you and We are proud to keep your dream and vision alive.