Just go with me on this.
You know this 25-year-old, unattached, hardly (financially) stable girl can't possibly be comparing this crazy, messy, rough and rocky thing called life to a sweet and satisfying piece of cake. Believe me, I'm not.
I went to church this last Sunday. For those of you who knew me back in the days of walking on my tip-toes, singing in front of family members (sometimes with a four-year-old crafted spotlight), and bossing my younger brother around, you know that I come from two wonderfully made, strong, Christian parents. I was in church every Sunday. Attended Sunday school. Never missed a Youth Group meeting. I am so thankful for my upbringing. And thankful that I grew out of the prancing on my toes and hogging the attention phase. My brother is also thankful I quit making him play school and house with me. I am also holding fast to the statement that I did, in fact, grow out of the hogging the attention phase. Some of you may beg to differ.
No matter if I like a little attention or not. That's not my point.
Church on Sunday. I must point out that I do not attend church every Sunday. I am not perfect, neither is my church attendance since leaving my parents home. But what I was raised on, and what I truly believe, is having faith in God. This is not a preachy-preachy blog post...so those of you who were just about to stop reading, please continue.
Before I get to my point, which I'm sure you think I had forgotten about, let's talk about cake. I'm a sugar addict. A choco-holic. A cookie-craving, ice-cream dreaming, obsessed with the sugary, sweet stuff freak. It's quite the diet killer. But it's quite the delicious addiction. I am usually pretty good about silencing my inner candy-coated demons that seduce me with their delicious yet high-calorie concoctions every time I see a freshly baked cookie, a pretty little cupcake, or a big chocolate cake. But sometimes a girl just has to give in and have a cookie. Or two. Or three. Hey. There is no judgment here.
Imagine my delight, and the groans of my ever-growing hunger as the sermon grew closer and closer to lunch time, when the pastor began to use cake as an analogy in his sermon. The sermon, I must add, was on hope. And that hope is not that God will give us exactly what we want, but that having hope in Him is that He will make everything work out for our greater good and for His glory. Of course we do have to hand over the reigns of our control-obsessed lives to Him and have that hope. But it is so worth the ride when God is at the reigns and not us.
Life is not perfect. It's full of ups and downs that give us bruises and scars all along the way. And at times, and on more than one occasion on the roller coaster of life, it is very hard. Is see it as drowning in muddy water. You can't see where you are going, which way is up or down, but you are fighting for your life and searching for the life saver. But we aren't meant to do it on our own. God created us. He never intended to leave us. He is our life saver.
Back to the cake. Isn't cake good? I love all cakes, but I have to admit, I have an extra-sweet spot for rainbow chip cake with rainbow chip frosting. I truly am a child at heart. If you have ever made a cake, which most of you surely are able to with the help of Betty Crocker, you know that it takes certain ingredients. At the very least it is cake mix, eggs, vegetable oil, and water. Besides the water, would any of these things be good on their own? Raw eggs? I do have a not-so-secret crush/obsession with Sylvester Stallone aka Rocky and HE ate raw eggs....but I don't recommend it to normal humans as a tasty treat. Vegetable oil? Besides rubbing oil on myself and sitting in the hot sun for a golden glow, I can't say I would ingest that on its own either. And dry cake mix? I was once dared to eat a spoon full of cinnamon for $20. I thought I was going to die of suffocation by cinnamon after the innocent looking powder coated my entire mouth and throat and filled my lungs. I don't recommend it. So I'd nix the dry cake mix snacking as well.
And for those of you over-achievers that bake cakes from scratch, there are plenty of other non-appetizing ingredients that go into the kind of cakes that don't require a visit from Betty Crocker.
My point is...do any of these ingredients taste good on their own? No. In fact, if you sat down to a meal of flour, vegetable oil, baking powder, and vanilla your stomach would probably close up from disgust. Each of these things are truly awful on their own. But when they are put together, in just the right amounts, at just the right times, a yummy, completely satisfying cake is created.
No matter how difficult the time is that you are going through, whether it be relationship problems, financial issues, a job that is falling apart or a job loss, depression, the loss of a loved one, or whatever hard situation you may be facing, first of all, you are not alone. And second of all, have hope that God will take all of these not fun situations and create something truly beautiful and satisfying for your life.
This message of hope truly touched me. It felt as if it were directed right at me. Obviously I wasn't the only one in the room and obviously everyone can benefit from this message, but it came to me at just the right time, when I needed to hear it most.
Have hope my dear friends and loved ones. And eat cake.
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