| 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, 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 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
everyday. |
