Soemtimes we go through such difficult times and feel like we can’t go on one more minute. But I believe the struggles are there to teach us, help us grow and also for us to be able to help others in the long run. This is a little story I wanted to share with you to give a different perspective on the struggles.

A man found a cocoon of a butterfly and he kept it. One day a small opening appeared. He sat and watched the butterfly for several hours as it struggled to force it’s body trough that tiny hole. Then it seemed to stop making any progress. It appeared as if it had gotten as far as it could, and could go no further. So, to help the poor little butterfly, the man took a pair of scissors and snipped off the remaining bit of the cocoon.

The butterfly easily emerged. But it had a swollen body and small, shriveled wings. The man continued to watch the butterfly. He was certain that at any moment, the wings would enlarge and expand to support the body and thus allow it to contract.

Unfortunately, that never happened. The butterfly spent the rest of it’s life crawling around with a swollen body and shriveld wings and was never able to fly.

The man in his kindness and haste, did not understand one important point. The restricting cocoon and the struggle required for the butterfly to get through the tiny opening are all part of a higher plan. As the butterfly struggles through the opening, fluid is forced from it’s body into its wings. Once the fluid is in the wings, the butterfly is ready for flight. It is the STRUGGLE that enables the butterfly to not only gain it’s freedom…but also to take flight.

Sometimes struggles are exactly what we need in our lives. If we were to go through our lives without any difficulties, it would cripple us. We would not be as strong as we could have been. We would never be able to fly!

This post was submitted by Brenda.