A little of this and a little of that

"Can I discern between the good and bad?"

2 Samuel 19:35

I had a great sandwich for lunch today.  Thin-sliced ham and Swiss cheese, on three-grain bread with a spread of goat cheese and honey, with romaine lettuce and a drizzle of balsamic vinegar.  And would you believe, I made it myself?  Sounds like something from a fancy bistro, right?  Well, I just bought the goat cheese and honey spread the other day, so I was building the sandwich around that.  Once I had the ham and swiss, I knew I wanted some lettuce for a little crunch and the drizzle of balsamic for a sweet tang.  It was a great sandwich, because I managed to successfully balance the flavors and textures.  I'd never made this sandwich before, but I knew the tang of the goat cheese would be well offset by the honey, and the salty taste of the ham.  The balsamic vinegar was a little acid to cut through the creaminess of the swiss cheese and the goat cheese.   It was delicious.

As I ate, I thought about what made the sandwich so good.  And I think it was balance.  Each of the ingredients was something that I would have been satisfied by, if it were all by itself.  I mean, I liked each ingredient just fine.  But putting together brought out the best that each part could be.  Tangy, and sweet.  Creamy, with crispy.

You see where I'm going with this?

Life is a balance.  If I could design my life, I would plan something that is fun, enjoyable, pleasant, wonderful and fabulous.  I would eliminate things that are hard, unpleasant, annoying, negative, or depressing.

You too?  Yeah, I figured....

But that's not going to happen.  First of all, we have to live with other people who aren't always acting in the ways that God would have them.  Free will and all that...  We also have our poor decisions to live with.  Sometimes we bring consequences on ourselves that aren't pleasant. 

But even if we are doing our best to be entirely in line with God's will for our lives, in this world we will have tribulation.  How do I know?  Because Jesus said that in this world, we would have tribulation (John 16:33). 

Besides, when He was on this earth, He had more than His share of unpleasant, too.  Why should we expect an easier, more pleasant life than He had? 

It can hard to have peace in difficult times, but He allows or orchestrates times or events that will grow us.  And they bring balance to the wonderful people and events that make life joyful, enabling us appreciate them all the more. 

~ "the sufferings of this present time 

are not worthy to be compared 

with the glory which shall be revealed in us" ~

Romans 8:18