This Is Not What I Ordered!

Jason and I have a routine.  Whenever we're headed out for a hike, we stop by our favorite convenience store and pick up two of their fountain drinks, typically some form of green tea.  Because neither of us like our tea sweet, we will usually fill the cups nearly full with unsweet tea, then add just a dash of sweet tea to take away the bitterness.  This works well and leaves our tea refreshing to the taste.

Over the weekend, we took Mitch out for a hike, so as usual, we followed our routine.  I stayed in the vehicle with Mitch as Jason ran in to grab the drinks.  After he handed me my drink, I took one sip and realized immediately that there was a problem.  My tea was sicky sweet!  Jason soon realized his was too.  After assuring me that he had put the proper tea in the cups, he surmised that perhaps the pots or labels had been switched accidentally.  Whatever the case, we both soon found that the tea was undrinkable and stopped to pick up two more drinks.  Bleck!

Doesn't life sometimes do the same thing to us?  We're going about our routine, expecting certain results when suddenly life hands us something we definitely did NOT order.  Like the disease that has invaded your body.  Or the financial trouble that is dragging you under.  The job that's stressing you out, or the coworker who's driving you crazy.  Let's face it, few weeks go by without life throwing us some kind of curveball.

Unfortunately, dealing with life's issues is not as easy as dealing with the sicky sweet tea.  We can't simply throw our lives away and get new ones.  It doesn't work that way.  To be blunt, we're stuck with the lives we have.  But here's the catch, we don't have to act like we're stuck.  We can rejoice in the good and appreciate all the wonderful things that our lives do have to offer.  Sure, there are some things we wish we could change, but is that any reason to stop living life?  Is it any reason to stop seeing the good?  Absolutely not!

I don't know what you're going through today, but two things I do know for sure:  God is still God, God is still good.  No matter what you may be facing, God knows and He cares.  Not only will He give you the strength to make it through, but He'll even make it possible for you to smile through your tears.  No, you may not have the life you ordered or expected, but God is giving you the life you need.  Trust Him in that.

This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it. - Psalm 118:24