Raising Spirits April 2010

Our dear friends son, 16, was suddenly diagnosed with an unusual cyst growing along his spinal cord which was eroding and very unstable.  This was a very scary time for all and everyone felt helpless.  Only time could tell.  The mom never left her sons bedside.  They spent many weeks at the hospital.  I didn't know how to help.

It was late one night and she sent me this lovely poem which the father who married or only the month before gave her.

A man found a cocoon of a butterfly. One day a small opening appeared; 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 as if 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, shrivelled 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 life crawling around with a swollen body and shrivelled 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 nature'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 nature allowed us to go through our life without any obstacles, it would cripple us. We would not be as strong as what we could have been.

And we could never fly…
Thank you Father Joe for sharing this beautiful and fitting story

Kirsty still keeps this sitting on her kitchen window sil

Adam is a pretty cool 16 year old boy.  He loves rocking out on his guitar and skateboarding.  After his neck stabilized he was able to jam in the hospital.  After 3 surgeries Adam was returned home...doing ok all things considering.  He's not able to skateboard any more....but loves to rock on the guitar and see concerts with his friends.

Way to go Adam!! You rocked it!