This Christmas, even if things aren’t going well, remember, they’re working together for your good.
While making my candied yams last evening, which is our son Kedar’s favorite holiday dish, he lingered around.
As always, I allowed him to do some taste-testing.
As soon as he sampled what I was cooking up, a broad smile covered his face.
“Mmmm,” he closed his eyes. “So delicious.”
Music to my ears.
On to other things.
I turned to check on my cabbage and heard “Mommy” in a questioning tone.
“Yes, Kedar?” I answered.
He frowned and asked, “Why is it that vanilla extract tastes so bitter on its own, but it’s so good when you put it in your yams?”
I smiled and said, “Some things aren’t meant to be eaten on their own. You have to combine them with other ingredients to get a good flavor.”
You see, I use vanilla extract in both my candied yams and banana pudding recipes, along with other spices, to add that delicate flavor everyone in the Hobbs family so loves.
But as a stand-alone element, its bitterness and unpleasant taste is overwhelming. As a cook, however, I know that blending the bitter with the sweet is necessary to come up with something highly pleasing in the end.
The contrasting flavors work together to produce something absolutely scrumptious.
Similarly, in the Kingdom of God, His recipe for beautiful outcomes contains both bitter and sweet ingredients.
Easy and hard; good and bad; sun and rain; joy and pain.
Remember what Romans 8:28 says, which I’m stirring into your Christmas cup of inspiration.
“All things”-that includes the bitter and the sweet-”work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.”
As you drink down the contents of your cup today, reflect on how our great God perfects us through imperfect circumstances.
Also, whatever you’re facing, allow the joy of the season to permeate every fiber of your being . After all, Jesus is why we celebrate.
From the Hobbs house to yours, Merry Christmas!
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