I was reminded of a story of a boy who found a caterpillar in the garden. He put it in a jar and after a time the caterpillar started to create a cocoon. Soon a butterfly would emerge.

One day a small hole appeared in the cocoon and the butterfly started its struggle to come out.

At first the boy was excited, but then he saw the butterfly was struggling.

The boy decided to help. Getting some scissors, he snipped the cocoon to make the hole bigger and the butterfly quickly emerged.

The butterfly had a swollen body and small, shrivelled wings. The boy knew that in time the body would shrink and the butterfly’s wings would expand. But neither happened.

In fact, the butterfly’s struggle to push its way through the tiny opening of the cocoon pushes the fluid out of its body and into its wings.

Without the struggle, the butterfly would never fly.

Sometimes hardship is needed. Jesus had to die to defeat death and bring resurrection life.

When we experience different seasons in our lives, which may mean going through a hard time, often we find extra strength.

Here are a few more words which you might recognise from a well-known song, found in the Old Testament of the Bible:

“For everything there is a season, a time for every matter under heaven; a time to be born, a time to die; a time to mourn, and a time to dance … a time to embrace, and time to refrain.”

Just like the butterfly who needs the struggle to emerge, we too can emerge and experience the light and warmth of the new season.

The following verse reminds us how God can work in our lives. May this be your experience.

“He has made everything beautiful in its time.” Ecclesiastes 3:11.