Man and Butterfly

Short and sweet today.

I got this from a friend and found it so profound.  I hope it provides food for thought and that it speaks to you personally.

Man and Butterfly

A man found a cocoon of a butterfly.  One day he saw a small opening in the cocoon.  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 could go no farther ...

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.  He continued to watch the butterfly because he expected that, at any moment, the wings would enlarge and expand 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 he had done in his well-intentioned kindness and haste, he did not understand was that the restricting cocoon and the struggle required 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 we could have been ... 

And we could never fly.

Have a great day and a great life!

Struggle a little ... then fly!  :)

Powerful, isn't it?  It speaks so deeply to me because I continually beg God to have mercy and remove my trials.  I hate the pain and discomfort that they cause.  Even though my brain understands that there is a purpose in the trial (whether I can see it or not), my heart fights it with every fiber of my being.

I think this will be my devotional with my students on the first day of school!  :)

I found a video of this story on YouTube:  I think I'll also share that with them.

I had to smile during the last part of the video because I am constantly begging God for the easy way out!  :)  However, in His deep wisdom and love, He does not give it to me!


Maybe reminding me of this story is God's way of keeping me focused on losing my Whiny Baby Ways.