1.Butterfly’s Wings

2.One day a small opening appeared on a cocoon,

3.a man sat and watched for the butterfly for several hours

4.as it struggled to force its body through that little hole.

5.Then it seemed to stop making any progress.

6.It appeared as if it had gotten as far as it could and it could go no further.

7.So the man decided to help the butterfly,

8.he took a pair of scissors and snipped off the remaining bit of the cocoon.

9.The butterfly then emerged easily.

10.But it had a swollen body and small, shriveled wings.

11.The man continued to watch the butterfly because he expected that,

12.at any moment, the wings would enlarge and expand to be able to support the body,

13.which would contract in time.

14.Neither happened!

15.In fact, the butterfly spent the rest of its life crawling around

16.with a swollen body and shriveled wings.

17.It never was able to fly.

18.What the man in his kindness and haste did not understand

19.was that the restricting cocoon

20.and the struggle required for the butterfly to get through the tiny opening

21.were God’s way of forcing fluid

22.from the body of the butterfly into its wings

23.so that it would be ready for flight once it achieved its freedom from the cocoon.

24.Sometimes struggles are exactly what we need in our life.

25.If God allowed us to go through our life without any obstacles, t would cripple us.

26.We would not be as strong as what we could have been.

27.I asked for strength

28.And God gave me difficulties to make me strong.

29.I asked for wisdom

30.And God gave me problems to solve.

31.I asked for courage

32.And God gave me danger to overcome.

33.I asked for love

34.And God gave me troubled people to help.

35.I received nothing I wanted.

36.I received everything I needed.