The Perfect Timing of Butterflies

When a loved one dies, the grief we experience can feel so overwhelming. Helping a child navigate through loss can be even more challenging. How can we comfort them? What can we say? How do we explain things in a way they can understand?

When my great-grandson was only four years old, my daughter’s lifelong friend suddenly died from a stroke. We tried our best to answer his questions, but it was difficult to find the right words to say. For weeks, he could not let go of his weighty thoughts and wonders about dying.

One day, I decided to tell him a true story about Bella, a little girl who was just about his age when her Poppa died. When I finished the story, I asked him what he thought. His answer surprised me in a way I could never have imagined, and I realized that he was immediately comforted in just the way he needed.

For decades, children and adults have shared with me their true stories of moments that felt too perfectly timed to be just a coincidence. Between the pages of this book, I share a small collection of those stories that I hope will serve as a powerful reminder of God’s love and presence during life’s most difficult seasons. In the perfect timing of butterflies, faith can transform grief into peace and remind us that we are never truly alone.