The Butterfly

A man found a 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 to help the butterfly, the man 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 never was 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 lives. If God allowed us to go through our lives without any obstacles, it would cripple us. We would not be as strong as what we could have been. We could never fly!
 
 

I asked for Strength,
    And God gave me
        Difficulties to make me strong.

I asked for Wisdom,
    And God gave me
        Problems to solve.

I asked for Prosperity,
    And God gave me
        Brain and Brawn to work.

I asked for Courage,
    And God gave me
        Danger to overcome.

I asked for Love,
    And God gave me
        Troubled people to help.

I asked for Favors,
    And God gave me
        Opportunities.

I received nothing I wanted.
    I received everything I needed!
 
 

May God bless you with unspeakable joy,
    Not only in the world to come,
        But in this world also.

May your path be bright
    And full of light
        Everywhere you go.

May God tell darkness
    That it must flee
        At your command.

And, I pray
    Your feet will never
        Stumble out of God's plan.

May the desires of your heart come true,
    And may you experience
        Peace in everything you do.

May Goodness,
    Kindness, and
        Mercy come your way.

And may you gain
    Wisdom and grow in the
        Lord every day.