Why we all need to struggle sometimes…

by Dr. Pete Gay on March 2, 2010

I ran across this story last week and I wanted to share it with my patients. I think it can hold a lot of meaning for us all. With regards to health and healing, sometimes our body expresses symptoms. These symptoms are often perceived by our society to be a bad thing, when in fact they can be a normal expression of a process that needs to occur in order heal or move to the next level of well-being. Sometimes going through this process is slow-slower than we want it to be. This story may help put understanding that process in perspective. In any instance, I’m certain you can apply this message to whatever challenges you may be experiencing in your life.
Struggle a Little

~Author Unknown~

A man found the cocoon of a butterfly. One day a small opening appeared and he sat and watched the butterfly for several hours as it struggled to force its body through that little hole. Then it seemed to stop making any progress. It appeared as if it had gotten as far as it could and 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. He continued to watch the butterfly and expected that the wings would enlarge and expand to support the body, which he thought 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 was never able to fly.

What the man had done in his well intentioned kindness and haste, what he did not understand, was that the restricting cocoon and the struggle required 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 any obstacles it would cripple us. We would not be as strong as we could have been. And we could never fly.
Have a great day, a great life, struggle a little. Then fly!
Dr. Pete

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