Jose’ and the Butterfly

It was going to be a long day; once again I was making a trip for the company on a Friday when I would rather be home. I was to be at the plant to meet up with another employee at 6:30 in the morning. We would load this piece of theater seat emergency and take it to New Orleans to be reviewed by the top dogs at a theater company for their newest movie house on Canal Street. Emergency because it had to be there Friday and should have been there two weeks before, but did not make it because the guys building the metal platform needed more time to do it right (some think it more important to just get it there regardless of how much time you need to do it right; the kind of companies I always seem to work for).

I would be spending the whole day with a guy from the plant with whom, until that day, I had only shared a few well-meaning nods and an occasional “hi.” We loaded up and headed out. I followed Jose’ to his house, where he left his car. As I followed him through the Tupelo dark rainy morning, I felt something I have felt often in my life – conviction. I was being convicted to pray for our trip to be a safe one. I thought about it. Would I offend this guy? Would I make him mad? Would it cause me trouble at my job? But none of that mattered. If I said no to this conviction of the heart from my Father, then I would let Him down. And I have learned that the heart grows colder when you fail God and his calling.

I pulled up behind Jose’ as he parked at the house. He jumped in the big van with backpack in tow. He asked if I would stop at the Hardees across the street so he could get something to eat before we started our long drive. After getting the fast food, we got back in the van and I asked if I could pray for our safe journey. He said okay and I prayed……. Afterword I felt like I had to explain and told him how my wife and I always pray before we take a trip anywhere. He said it was a good thing to do. In his thick accent (If you have not guessed by now, Jose’ is a Mexican immigrant who moved here when he was a boy.), he asked where I went to church. I told him and then he told me about his church. He was a Christian…. so I wondered why God wanted me to pray as if I had to witness to this person. I mean, I thought that was what this was all about. I soon found out I would be the one witnessed to. I had to listen carefully because his accent was hard to understand at times and the noise of the road didn’t make it any easier. I craned my ear and listened.

Jose’ told me a story of heartache. You see, he had been through so much in his short life of thirty years. He told me how he suffered from depression and had to take medication. He told me of a divorce and how he can only see his son on the weekends, how he had been fired from a job because of a misunderstanding. Now you may think this is the reason for the depression, but you would be wrong. Jose’ then told me about the birth of his son, his first son that only lived 18 days. He said after this he wondered about God. Why did this happen? He asked the big question we all ask: “Why God, why?” He told me about how he was out in his yard after coming from the funeral of his newborn son. He sat down in the grass and asked God what man has asked from the beginning. “Prove yourself to me, God. Show me a sign.” He said as he lifted his head from praying he saw a butterfly land on his shoulder. He took this as his sign.

Since then Jose’ has gone to church and told me it always makes him feel better when he walks in those doors. Now you may think Jose’s life was great after his faith was restored and he recommitted his life to God. You might think that, but you would be wrong again. Jose’ and his wife had another son. A son he calls his world, a son he says brings such joy to his life because he is such an angel, a son born with Down syndrome. A son who spent his first years on this earth fighting leukemia. But he is and will always be, as Jose’ put it, his angel. Jose’ spent a year traveling from Tupelo to Memphis’s St Jude to stay with his wife and son at night as their son took chemotherapy. He told me the leukemia has been gone now for two years. His son is now four. I guess (but did not ask) his marriage did not survive all the couple went through. He said though he and his wife are still good friends. In fact, she texted him and wished him a safe trip while we were on the road.

So what did I get from my trip with Jose’? Well, I will be processing that for some time. Do we all get a butterfly when we need it most? No! But sometimes it may not be time for it to land on your shoulder because you’re just not ready to see it. God has His own way of doing things and for sure His own sweet time to do them in. I remember my Mom use to always say God will never put more on your shoulders than you can handle. Jose’ must have some broad shoulders, at least broad enough for a butterfly to land on. I feel I need to work out my faith more and broaden my shoulders, so maybe I can handle life as well as Jose’ did. Was there a happy ending in Jose’s story? All I can tell you is this. When he talked of taking his little boy to church and how he took pride in seeing his son carry his Bible he just bought him with his name engraved on it, I believe that was happiness I saw in his eyes.

Joy, Peace and Love are gifts from God. But to enjoy them you have to experience the other side of life.

Joy comes in the morning. After the darkness you can see it better.

Being lonely made me hold onto the love tighter.

Losing the ones I love made me enjoy the time with the ones here more.

Pain I needed to know how to live!

Yes I’m still processing my trip with Jose’………………….but I will not look at a butterfly the same again.