The Struggle is Real? How do you handle struggle? Do you hope someone will pull you out?

Good Sunday Morning Everyone! I hope you're having a blessed Sunday. It's been snowing here for fifty-five plus hours. We are pretty buried in where I am. This is something we generally deal with, but not snowing for that long of a period straight. It's been interesting and with subzero temperatures, it's been a challenge for our son and me. 

Now for the meat of this entry. I said the struggle is real. How do you handle your struggle? Do you wish or hope someone would pull you out so you don't have to deal with the struggle? I put this picture of the monarch butterfly up for this reason. When we find a cocoon we want to grab it or bring it inside when we should just leave it where it is. We can go back to it and check on it. This butterfly is intact in the first cocoon, it's fully encapsulated, fully protected. The butterfly is safe. The next one shows that the butterfly is starting to emerge from its cocoon now; it's vulnerable at this stage. The butterfly is weak, its wings are weak, its legs are weak. The butterfly is not ready for flight as of yet. We may come upon this butterfly and want to help it, but we shouldn't. The third one the butterfly has made progress and is now outside the cocoon. Still too weak for flight. The wings are not ready for flight even though the butterfly is out of the cocoon now. The fourth one the butterfly is out and the wings are expanding a little more as they're drying and preparing for flight. Now the fifth one the butterfly is ready for flight; the wings are expanded and dried, the legs are stronger. This butterfly will take off and survive.

I know our struggles are very real, very painful, very deep at times. We may not handle struggle well. We may look for that one to pull us out of our struggle to make things much easier for us. Is that what we really need or should look for? God can pull us from our struggles, but sometimes He doesn't instead He comes alongside us and walks the struggle with us to help us along the journey. That in the end, we would be like that last butterfly. We would be stronger, able to "fly" handle the next struggle better and know what we need to get through. He will teach us the things we need, give us the tools we need to face the struggles better that we come out closer to him and more confident in ourselves.

I know this journey that I am now facing, the infusions, the tests, the broken bones that may come, the surgical things that may come along isn't going to be an easy one. I can say that I am better prepared because God has taught me, shown me so many things to get through each of these struggles as I walk my journey with OI. So the question remains. How will you handle your struggle? Will you have someone pull you out or will you ask them to come alongside you and help you through it to make you stronger? Will you rely on God more to help you through the struggle? If you need me you can always contact me. Have a wonderful Sunday.

Grace & Peace,