Strength because of the Struggle

The day that I read the quote in My Life Today where it says, "Christ is ever sending messages to those who listen for His voice." I prayed that God would open my ears to hear His voice...so I could hear the messages that He was sending to me. Twice that day, my little 12 year old sister said some very profound things, that really hit home for me. She was telling me a story...because she loves to tell her big sister every story that she hears...about this man who was really interested in butterflies. One day he found this cocoon and took it home. After several days, this cocoon began to shake...very violently. The man watched this butterfly trying to escape his tiny home. But soon the man began to be afraid that the butterfly was struggling so much that he would kill himself. So the man cut a tiny slit in the cocoon to let the butterfly out. Through the tiny slit came two beautiful wings, and then came the rest of the butterfly. It was a beautiful creature! The man was so excited to have seen this happen, and to see the results of God's creation. But after many days, something wasn't right. The butterfly hadn't flown. The man began to wonder if something was wrong, so he called a good friend of his who was familiar with these things. After re-telling how he found the cocoon, and how he had made a slit in the cocoon to let the butterfly out, the friend figured out what was wrong. The butterfly wasn't strong enough to fly. Why? Because he hadn't gone through the struggle to be released from his tight quarters. It is the struggle that gives the butterfly the strength to fly. Butterfly's have a special place in my heart. During my greatest struggle, God pointed me to the lessons I could learn from them. Each of God's wonderful creations have many a great lesson for us to learn from. God sent a message to me through my little sister, who was casually telling her older sister a story that she had heard and found interesting. Yet to me it was as direct as if God had spoken it Himself. It is the struggle that gives us the strength to fly.