One day

One day, a small opening appeared in a cocoon;

a man sat and watched the butterfly for several hours 

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

It appeared as if it had gotten as far as it could and 

it could not go any further.

Then, it seemed to stop making any  progress.

So the man decided to help the butterfly:

he took a pair of scissors and opened the cocoon.

The butterfly then emerged easily.

But it had a withered body, 

it was tiny and had shriveled wings.

The man continued to watch because he expected that,

at any moment,

the wings would open, enlarge and expand,

to be able to support the butterfly's body, and become firm.

Neither happened! In fact, the butterfly spent the rest of its life

 crawling around with a withered body and  shriveled wings.

It never was able to fly.

What the man, in his kindness and his goodwill

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 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.

 Never able to 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 a brain and brawn to work.

I asked for Courage…and God gave me obstacles 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

...but I received everything I needed."

"Live life without fear,

confront all obstacles and know that you can overcome them."