Recently, I was watching my granddaughter, Maxine, pull herself up in her playpen. It inspired me to reflect on butterflies emerging from their chrysalises. I remember learning in elementary school that it is necessary for a butterfly’s development that it struggles to break free from its enclosure. If someone was to rip open the layers and help the young butterfly out, it would die. Its wings would not fully develop, and it would never be able to fly.
Watching my granddaughter, I recognized that if we were to help her up every time she struggled to stand, she would never have the opportunity to develop her leg and arm muscles or appreciate the satisfaction of independence and accomplishment by doing it herself. I continued reflecting and realized that developmental struggles continue our whole life; we never finish growing and maturing in one way or another.
In today’s culture, people feel that hardship and suffering need to be avoided at all costs. That is a dangerous position that compromises society. I love the quote by Blessed Henry Suso, “Suffering gives a man wisdom and experience. A man who has not suffered, what does he know?” There is no shortcut to wisdom. Who do you turn to in hard times? Someone who has experienced hardships with dignity and courage, or someone who has cowardly avoided all burdensome challenges?
I was once warned about asking God for patience; rather than simply bestow it, more likely He will lead us into situations that require us to put it into action. I think it is the same way with wisdom. We all want to be wise, and we all want to grow old, but we complain about the process necessary to achieve each. It puts a different spin on a lifetime of hardships and sufferings when we honor them as laboratories for growing stronger and wiser. I like to envision God smiling down on each of us as we break through the layers of our chrysalises and stretch our wings to fly!
Scripture: Read Proverbs 2:1-6. What stands out?
Call to Action: Reflect on the hardships you have experienced and consider how they have helped you grow in wisdom.
