Hatching Hurts.

Did you know that in order for a caterpillar to turn into a butterfly, it has to go through a painful, difficult stage of hatching from a chrysalis? A chrysalis is very much like a cocoon, and the newborn butterfly has to struggle and fight to break open the shell, resting periodically, slowly working it's way out. It seems like a brutal way to enter the world, but apparently the extreme difficulty of the 'birth' is what gives the butterfly the strength to live.

I have to wonder; does the butterfly know that all this pain and struggle is actually good for it? Does the butterfly look back fondly on it's emergence and think, "ah, thank goodness for that. Without it, I would not have the strength of character that I now possess."? Ok, so realistically, the butterfly doesn't really think at all; it just operates on nervous impulses from it's primitive little bug brain. But metaphorically speaking, one has to wonder if the butterfly knows what's good for it, just as we have to wonder about people.

I want so very much to look at current situations and think that I can rest assured that it's all for my own good, pre-ordained by a loving God, and that this period of life will help develope the person He wants me to be. But does it really have to be like this? I mean, come on - I am a very good book-learner.