butterflies

I love butterflies and always have done.
Butterflies often appear in my art work and it must be their beauty and fragility that inspires me.
This week I received an email from a friend and she named the email 'butterflies'; she had a look at my blog and liked my stories about Cambodia.
The email didn't mention anything about butterflies at all, but I thought about it for a while, maybe my stories gave her butterflies in her tummy, I hope so.
Isn't that a weird expression in English... "butterflies in your tummy", poor things, I can't imagine that would be a nice place to flutter around in!
The day before I left Wat Opot to go back to New Zealand, Wayne and us volunteers were having our evening meal in the outdoor gazebo and a little butterfly landed right behind me on the wall.
It sat there for a while and then flew away, but it came back time after time and again landed behind me on the wall.
We all started to notice and then Wayne said:"someone's soul is coming to say goodbye to you".
Wat Opot is such a special and spiritual place,I am totally convinced that miracles happen there even in the shape of a butterfly.
I am back now in New Zealand and in a society where miracles are sometimes a bit harder to spot.
The shopping malls are getting bigger and bigger and when I try to do my weekly groceries I feel bombarded by loud music and advertising and people trying to sell me things I really don't need.
In Cambodia people also tried to sell me things I didn't need, but for many of them it was plain survival and to have some food to eat at the end of the day.
Many times since I have been back I have felt frustrated and wanted to shake people up around me and say to them: just share something of all the wealth you have, just a little bit is enough to make a difference in a life only 12 hours flying from here.
I share my stories, show my photographs and make my "saving piggies" for Cambodia and hope that a little butterfly creates a miracle in the hearts around me.
I know it will and I have seen already some of it by way of a lovely email from someone who bought one of my fund raising paintings of 'Trade Me' (the Kiwi e-bay), three bags of soft toys given to sell for fundraising from a colleague of Henk and the sewing from my students for the children of Wat Opot.
I know its not my doing, but God that changes hearts; I just have to learn to be patient and let the Holy Spirit work... maybe in the shape of a butterfly!