The other day, I watched a movie scene that showed a little girl holding a cocoon or chrysalis in the palm of her hand. Suddenly, the cocoon’s pleats begin to expand and separate like an accordion when it is opened. The butterfly began to emerge, and the girl’s eyes stretched wide with anticipation. The insect was almost halfway out of its cocoon when it stopped, and there was no further movement or progression. It seemed as if a part of its wings was stuck inside the chrysalis. The little girl placed the cocoon on a surface and used a sharp blade to cut open the remainder of the chrysalis. The lower part of the wings became fully exposed, freeing the butterfly, which began to fly.
The little girl didn’t want to see the insect struggle for its life. She was joyful about releasing the butterfly from its imprisonment and saving it.
What if there were no struggles in life? Everything is microwaveable, easy, and quick, and every effort results in first-time successes relative to one’s needs and desires. In this easy-peasy world, learning new things is a breeze, and wisdom is the result of patches and updates from the software of some local or far-reaching hi-tech operating system.
An eight-to-five job is obsolete; robots do all the work in society, including cooking, washing, and all household chores.
A house, vehicle, food card, and other necessities are fringe benefits of being a U.S. citizen. Giving birth is as easy as removing a cake from the oven.
Such an unrealistic, made-to-order world may sound nice to some but not to those who value the challenges and struggles that make them strong, courageous, and resilient.
Challenges help build the physical, emotional, and intellectual muscles needed to run races, climb mountains, and reach one’s full potential. People who like challenges get pumped up, even as underdogs. Underdogs wear their boxing gloves, striving and hoping to land the winning punch, just like those who are favorites to win.
It’s the Houdini in us to get out of tight spots, overcome problems, and move on to even more challenging things.
Although the little girl thought she had done a good deed by cutting the cocoon, she unknowingly handicapped the butterfly.
The butterfly flew a few feet above the girl, and within a few moments, it could no longer fly. The butterfly died.
The narrator of the story explained why the butterfly became weak and could not remain airborne. The little girl didn’t know that butterflies release a chemical when they are emerging from their chrysalis. Their writhing and movements inside the cocoon release a chemical, which strengthens and expands their wings. The crucial chemical helps develop their wings. Without the struggle to free itself, the butterfly’s wings will not develop enough to ensure their survival.
Our development from an infant to an adult is not unlike that of a butterfly. The struggles and challenges help us grow and mature into strong individuals capable of being independent, taking care of ourselves, and others.
This struggle reminds me of the gospel song, Lord Don’t Move That Mountain. The following is the first stanza:
My Lord, don’t move my mountain,
But give me the strength to climb.
And lord, don’t take away my stumbling blocks,
But lead me all around.
Perhaps the butterfly would have managed without the little girl’s help. Of course, this doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t help each other during troublesome times.
We can expect challenges and struggles in life, and we will be stronger after overcoming them.
We will all, at one time or another, be in a cocoon trying to emerge and fly with God’s help.
I hope you are happy and well.