Gather ’round, it’s story time!   Sometimes, its hard to remember that things happen for a reason.  There is a plan, and the things we go through prepare us for the things ahead.  I read this story about a year ago and I like to re-read it when I’m feeling overwhelmed by life.  Hopefully it brings you some comfort as well.

A man found a cocoon of a butterfly, that he brought home.

One day a small opening appeared he sat and watched the butterfly for several hours. 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 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, he expected that, at any moment, the wings would enlarge and the body would contract. 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.

The man acted with well-intentioned kindness but he didn’t understand the consequences. The restricting cocoon and the struggle required to get through the tiny opening, were nature’s way of forcing fluid from the body of the butterfly 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 all our life without any obstacles, that would cripple us. We would not be as strong as we could have been.

(Photo by: by kevincole)

and once again the above story…..  not written by me.   Written by someone Unknown.  That guy writes the best stuff.