for

[Guest guest]

Cyntiha,

My teenage daughter showed me this today, and I though of you. I'm

not sure why some have it tougher than others at times, but I'm sure

you will emerge from this stronger than ever.

Hugs to you , and continued wishes for patience and

healing. Hurry back to us, we miss you. Love, Meli

The Butterfly

>

>| 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 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.

>|

>| 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!

>|