BUTTERFLY IN THE COCOON

A man found the cocoon of a butterfly. One day a tiny opening appeared. He  sat and watched the butterfly for several hours as it struggled to force its body through the 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 and  eventually fly.
But that didn't happen! 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 Gods 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 would 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 a 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!

Author Unknown