I can't believe we are already into the second month of 2009. This year has already been met for my family with sorrow. Many of you are dealing with challenges and heartaches too. Having a prayer chain for the last ten years via the internet has been an 'in your face' reminder that life is all about seasons. We all have times of trouble and times of joy. God is gracious to blend the two.
I made a german chocolate cake from scratch this weekend. It was my mom's recipe and one that she always made for my uncle - her baby brother - on his birthday each year. And it just so happened that his birthday was the day after her funeral. I thought it would be a way to 'attempt' to repay him for all the wonderful and kind things he had done for my mother through the years.
The recipe was different from anything I had done before. Several ingredients had to be mixed separately and then combined. Dry by themselves. Shortening and sugar by themselves. Wet with dry. Then the egg whites had to be stiffly beaten and folded in. It was a lot of trouble but it was a GREAT cake. Three layers high and topped with an icing of coconut and pecans. I remembered as I stacked those layers how my mother would put toothpicks in between the layers to keep them straight and to avoid their sliding around after the icing was on. It reminded me of life.
God goes to a lot of trouble to blend just the right amount of joy and sorrow into a life. Not too much to make us frivolous or melancholy but enough to make us grateful for the times of goodness and compassionate in times of trouble. He is the toothpick between the layers of troubles to keep us from sliding away under the weight of our cares and He is the icing of sweetness who makes life worth living. In His eyes, the effort is worth the cost and time and trouble because we are being molded into the image of His Son.
We're early into the year and it looks like it will be a challenging one from all predictions. Savor the sweetness. Look back and see how far you've come. Look ahead and know that your destination is sure. My individual ingredients weren't appealing, my kitchen was a mess, but man oh man the outcome was great. Same is true for us.
"O taste and see that that the Lord is good."
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3 comments:
Thanks! You always have a way of taking everyday life and giving us an insight into God's eyes and God's ways. Love ya,
love the analogy! how sweet of you to do that for your uncle :-)
I love this thought about the mixture of sorrow and joy. I love savoring the sweet, looking back on the how far we've come and knowing the future is sure with Him. Beth Moore said in Esther the other night "If ______, then what?" It is so true, because even when the absolute worst happens, He will be there. After all the tears, all the joy, all the pain our God will be there, just waiting for us to pick back up, dust off and plow ahead.
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