Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Show and Tell: A Butterfly's Lesson


Show and Tell

It's time for Mel's Show and Tell.  This week, I am doing something a little different.  Instead of showing, I am doing a bit of telling.

I received an email from my mom last week, and in it was a beautiful story called "A Butterfly's Lesson".  It made me smile and gave me a little more determination to face whatever the outcome of my IVF journey may be.  I hope this picks you up a little too.

A Butterfly's Lesson
One day, a small opening appeared in a cocoon; a man sat and watched for the butterfly for several hours as it struggled to force its body through that little hole.  Then, it seems to stop making any progress.  It appeared as if it had gotten as far as it could and it could not go any further.

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 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 obstacles, it would cripple us.  We would not be as strong as we could have been.  Never been 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.

Now, go see what else the rest of the class is showing at Mel's.

14 comments:

  1. <3 this! :) Thank you for sharing, and thanks to yoru momma too!

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  2. Excellent story! Thanks for sharing...

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  3. That is a great story but it is exactly sometimes why I am leary to ask for what I want...I am afraid he will give it to me but not the way I expected.

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  4. That is so beautiful. Thanks for sharing it with us.

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  5. I just saw Alice in Wonderland; reminds me a bit of the film.

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  6. I love this I have now shared it with some friends that are facing life struggles.

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  7. This is great, I have seen it before. But it's so true. Thanks for sharing!

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  8. Praying for you sweet friend! Infertility is such a hard journey! LOVE this post!

    Love, Hugs and Prayers

    Tiffany

    www.thepiferfamily.blogspot.com

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  9. Thank you so much for sharing, this was beautiful!!!

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  10. A very beautiful and poignant post. I just found out I will miscarry. No heartbeat today at u/s - 8w1d. It is a very hard journey.

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  11. Dear Anonymous,
    I'm so sorry!! I wish I can say something to make things better, but I know it there's nothing I can say. I truly can't image what you are going through. Please know that I am thinking about you, and praying for you for peace as you grief.

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  12. Love this. Thank you for sharing!

    Anon, I'm praying for you, too. So sorry for your loss.

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