Wed, 1 Oct 2003

today's instant vacation...

Today's iv is not humorous. I know that some of you are going through or have recently gon through some rough times, and I thought this would be an encouragement to you. I may send a short, funny iv later this week, just so you get the weekly dose of humor. I'm upgrading my woodburning computer to a kerosene model (going from Windows 95 to Windows 98 - WOW, huh?!). So I'll just *have* to try it out.

 =^..^=  =^..^=  =^..^=   
Rob Loach in Greenville SC

A ship in a harbor is safe, but that's not what ships are built for.
***

THE BUTTERFLY AND COCOON

A man found a 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 that 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 short 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 life without any obstacles, it would cripple us. We would not be as strong as we could have been.

And we could never fly.

***
God's Plans

I asked for strength
And God gave me difficulties to make me strong.

I asked for wisdom
And God gave me problems to solve.

I asked for prosperity
And God gave me a brain and brawn to work.

I asked for courage
And God gave me danger to overcome.

I asked for love
And God gave me troubled people to help.

I asked for favors
And God gave me opportunities.

I received nothing I wanted.
I received everything I needed.