A man found
the cocoon of a butterfly. One day a small opening appeared. He sat and watched the butterfly for several hours as it struggled
to force its body through that little hole. Then it seemed to stop making any progress. It appeared as if it had gotten as
far as it could and it could go no further. So the man decided to help the butterfly, he took a pair of scissors and snipped
off the remaining bit of the cocoon. The butterfly then emerged easily. But it had a swollen body and small, shriveled wings.
The
man continued to watch the butterfly because he expected that, at any moment, the wings would enlarge and expand to be able
to support the body, which would contract in time. Neither happened. In fact, the butterfly spent the rest of its life crawling
around with a swollen body and shriveled wings. It was never able to fly.
What the man in his kindness and haste did
not understand was that the restricting cocoon and the struggle required for the butterfly to get through the tiny opening
were God’s way of forcing fluid from the body of the butterfly into its wings so that it would be ready for flight once
it achieved its freedom from the cocoon.
Sometimes struggles are exactly what we need in our life. If God allowed us
to go through our life without any obstacles, it would cripple us. We would not be as strong as what we could have been. We
could never fly.
It is tough to understand why we go through the difficult times we go through. The best way to
look at it is to know that God is strengthening our wings to fly. He is helping us become strong for the moments He has created
for us to experience. He knows what is ahead and He knows what it will take to make it through it. We need to allow God to
take us through some of these tough times, so we can be strong for the times to come. May you be strengthened in your cocoon
and may your wings become very strong. May you become beautiful in your time and may your experience be a truly rewarding
one!
