Remember when Forrest Gump told us that life was like a box of chocolates? I think he was on to something.
I am that person who gets a box of chocolate and wants to pierce the bottom of each one, testing to see if the flavor is a favorite. Or, one that I don’t want to eat.
My life is a beautiful ornate box, delicate details carved into the case. Filled with the sweetest treats.
Yesterday brought a bite into a piece that about gagged me. No time to carefully test it, I had to bite right in. A flavor I hate.
A situation was thrown into my life box I did not want to taste.
It was bitter, leaving an aftertaste I might not be able to wash out. I am not the only one who got that flavor. Boxes of loved ones housed the contaminated piece as well. Our stomachs sharing the roiling of emotions that only we can taste.
It was hard to swallow
Even as I swallow, gag, and force it down- I ask God to show me the sweetness in it. That I would take note of the almost imperceptible notes of sweetness surrounding the icky middle.
I will eat this piece, and then I will not fear taking another.
Those pieces of life that are so distasteful to us, with time, often show us another layer we missed the first time.
Those pieces of life that gag us, will surely give us a greater appreciation for the ones we hold onto tightly. Greedily.
Used to be that I would just toss those pieces in the garbage. Unwilling to partake.
I still don’t savor them, but I wait. For the forthcoming flavors, the ones that remind me how precious and beautiful and overflowing with sensory delight all the other pieces are.
This is my box. Every piece
You can choose many of the flavors in life, but not all.
We all have a custom-designed package. It will contain a variety of experiences. If the next one is difficult to swallow, don’t stop chewing.
The next one might just be the sweetest one you’ll ever know.
Romans 8:28 Meanwhile, the moment we get tired in the waiting, God’s Spirit is right alongside helping us along. If we don’t know how or what to pray, it doesn’t matter. He does our praying in and for us, making prayer out of our wordless sighs, our aching groans. He knows us far better than we know ourselves, knows our pregnant condition, and keeps us present before God. That’s why we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good.
