A man found the cocoon of a butterfly. One day a small opening appeared, so he sat and watched the butterfly for several hours as it tried to force its body through that little hole. Then it seemed to stop making any progress. It appeared as if the Butterfly had gone as far as it could.

The man decided to help the Butterfly, and 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 needed to get through the opening were the Creator's way of forcing fluid from the body of the Butterfly into its wings. It would be ready for flight once it achieved its freedom from the cocoon and in its own time.

Sometimes big efforts are exactly what we need in our lives. Without obstacles to conquer, we would not know the meaning of success and achievement. We would not be as strong as we could have been. And we might never fly. Effort brings its own rewards and all things come in exactly the right time.

(Author unknown)