This isn't to say that we welcome the struggles and problems that we come across. It is just to assure us that there are times that will be trying for us and if we just keep going.....we will come out the other end......eventually.
I see many parents of this generation that are actually hampering their children by not allowing them to ever be disappointed or to have any problems in their lives. If we never experience problems or disappointments in our younger years.....we are being set up to be thrown for a loop when we grow up and have to face the many obstacles and/or problems that life can dish up for us. I know today's parents are just trying to be helpful....but it is really a hindrance for a child. You could even go as far as to say you are crippling your child if you do not allow them to figure out how to overcome the many problems or situations they will encounter as they grow up.
This is a parable that shows us a great example of allowing each of us to experience the struggles we may meet, so that we will be strong enough to get through them when they appear:
Struggle
A man found a cocoon of an emperor moth. He took it home so that he could watch the moth come out of the cocoon. On that day a small opening appeared, he sat and watched the moth for several hours as the moth struggled to force the 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 it could go no farther. It just seemed to be stuck. Then the man, in his kindness, decided to help the moth, so he took a pair of scissors and snipped off the remaining bit of the cocoon. The moth then emerged easily. But it had a swollen body and small, shriveled wings. The man continued to watch the moth 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 little moth spent the rest of its life crawling around with a swollen body and shriveled 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 required for the moth to get through the tiny opening was the way of forcing fluid from the body of the moth into its wings so that it would be ready for flight once it achieved its freedom from the cocoon. Freedom and flight would only come after the struggle. By depriving the moth of a struggle, he deprived the moth of health. Sometimes struggles are exactly what we need in our life. If we were to go through our life without any obstacles, we would be crippled. We would not be as strong as what we could have been. Give every opportunity a chance.
Hope everyone finds very small hurdles that you have to jump over and that your troubles are few. But if you do find yourself in a situation that takes some squirming to get out of......remember the beautiful story about the caterpillar and the butterfly; "Just when the caterpillar thought it was the end of the world.....he turned into a butterfly." Happy growing boys and girls. You can do it......Gommy is pulling for you! Hugs & Mush
