The Butterfly Effect

 

February 10, 2026

We agreed to wear bright colors for our date to the Butterfly House as their website said it would make us more attractive to the butterflies. And who doesn’t want to look more attractive to butterflies when one is on a second date?

So, I wore a bright pink short-sleeved sweater and denim shorts. Terry showed up sporting a vibrant orange tee shirt and khaki shorts. He didn’t look half bad. Not many men can wear orange well.

And yet, it wasn’t Terry’s appearance that struck me on this outing with him. It was how he carried himself. He was comfortable in his own skin which made it easy to be with him.

We hadn’t made it far into the warm humid environment when the large brown butterfly in the photo landed on my right knee. We were both delighted!

At first, I just stood there in awe, believing that he would fly away after a few seconds. But he didn’t! After we took a few pictures of him to capture the special moment, I decided to keep walking and exploring with Terry. And he still didn’t fly away!

That beautiful creature stayed on my leg most of the time we were there.

I know that butterflies are attracted to the salt and sweat of human skin. And I was certainly sweating in that tropical environment. And I definitely sweat more than cool and confident Terry. So, it was not out of the ordinary that this happened, right?

Or was this a sign? A signal of some sort? I wasn’t sure.

We decided to extend the date and drive to old town St. Charles. After grabbing some lunch, we walked the old streets and explored several shops. Terry was such a gentleman, guiding me with his hand, attentive to my clumsiness as I almost tripped on a couple of steps.

Inside one place, an art gallery, cool and confident Terry somehow knocked over a large metal sculpture standing in the middle of the floor. Nothing broke and he was not injured. And I remember thinking, “Aha! He IS human!” meaning he makes mistakes, too. . . he’s not perfect either.

But Terry handled it with a smile and grace that impressed me.

A few dates later, I asked him about his consistent happy demeanor especially after losing his wife and how he doesn’t seem to let things bother him.

Terry explained it’s just who he is. A child of God.

Romans 8:28, “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”

Later, I thought about what he’d said and wondered, “Why don’t I act more like that?”