The Butterfly Effect - Day 18

     Today we celebrated Easter.  It was fun going on an Easter egg hunt, taking pictures, having a butterfly pancake breakfast, sharing about the meaning of Easter, and painting and crafting together.

     While I was preparing for today, I found a poem that seemed so fitting.  It had a message for parents, for educators, for children, and for those that have a loved one with a disability.

                             The Cocoon            

        Anonymous

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 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. Then the man decided to help the butterfly, so 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 wings 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 the man in his kindness and haste did not understand was that the restricting cocoon and the struggle required for the butterfly 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 what we could have been.

And we could never fly.

     As a parent, it reminded me that it is OK for my kids to struggle sometimes, because that is the only way they will become strong and fly on their own.  As an educator, it reminds me to be patient with the process.  The kids will be able to read soon enough.  As someone who supports those affected with a disability, it reminds me to not enable, but empower.  An adult or child with a disability needs to do as much as they can on their own so they can reach their full potential of who God designed them to be.  With our children, our students, and our friends, we should always be supportive but in a way that makes them strong, not weak.

     I know for me, I have been through a lot of trials in my life.  They have been hard, but I am stronger as a result and I am so grateful for the friends that have supported me along the way.