Madeleine

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 throught that little hole.
Then it seemed to stop making progress, and appeared as if it had gotten as far  as it could,
and it could go no forther.

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 wind 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 that man, in his kindness and haste did not understand was that the restricing cocoon and the struggle required for the butterfly to get through the opening were the universe 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 the universe 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 ask for strength...and the universe gave me difficulties to make me strong.

I asked for wisdom...and the universe gave me problems to solve.
 
A asked for prosterity...and the universe gave me brains and brawn to work.

I asked for courage...and the universe gave me danger to overcome.
 
I asked for love...and the universe gave me troubled people to help out.
 
I aksed for favors...and the universe gave me opportunities.
 
I received nothing I wanted...I received everything I needed!