Growing in the Struggle

We often see struggle as something to be avoided—painful, inconvenient, even unfair. But nature tells a different story.

Take the butterfly. Before it ever soars in freedom, it must wrestle its way out of the chrysalis. That process looks brutal from the outside—slow, labored, exhausting. You might be tempted to help, to peel the casing back, to ease its way into the world. But if you do, something tragic happens: the butterfly emerges with weak wings, unable to fly. The very struggle that seems so harsh is what forces fluid into its wings, strengthening them for flight.

And so it is with us.

In our lives, the chrysalis can look like hardship, delay, disappointment, or inner resistance. We think, Why is this so hard? Why won’t someone just help me through this part? But perhaps the effort itself is the necessary gift.

Our wings—our resilience, clarity, purpose, and strength—are formed in the push. Not in the rescue.

This doesn’t mean we’re meant to suffer endlessly. But it does mean we’re often transformed by the very thing we’d never choose. Sometimes, the most loving thing the universe does is not remove the struggle. Because it sees who we’re becoming.

So if you’re in the chrysalis right now—wrestling, stretching, longing for the ease of flight—take heart. You’re not failing. You’re forming.

And when your wings are ready, you’ll rise—not in spite of the struggle, but because of it.

Love you,

KM