My life is never quite what I expected! Cliche? Of course! But oh so true.
If my life were a recipe- it would be one part bliss, one part serendipity, an overflowing cup of grief, four tablespoons of complete joy, mixed in with some sprinkles of sorrow and a pinch of pumpkin spice.
Let me breakdown that recipe a tad more for you…
Bliss: Our family is truly blessed. We have some of the best friends, family, neighbors, community, churches, and even co-workers in the world! We feel so humbled that we get to live this life and pay forward the blessings given to us. We live in our dream lake home with lake views we still have to pinch ourselves over.
Serendipity: God is always preparing us for the next step, often in surprising and sometimes miraculous ways. Our goals rarely follow the outline we personally set forth. For example, every adoption (including one we are about to enter) has been out of this world inexplicable, and only God can take the glory there. We often feel God is preparing a way for us, we just need to stay in our lanes and flex our faith muscles while we patiently wait. At times we are excitedly nervous- like what is God about to do? (I don’t know, but my voice is getting mouse level squeaky as I giddily wiggle in my seat with a smile I cannot wipe off my face).
Grief: It is back to school time in Minnesota, and that means a wave of emotions in our household. Our family loves school, learning, getting back into the routines, and seeing all the new friendships blossom. But for us, that also means recognizing that a certain someone (Miss Olly Belle) won’t be joining us on this side of heaven for what would be her second and final year of preschool. Back to school picks literally bring me to tears at times, knowing we are missing an important person in our pics each year. Deep breaths- this too shall pass. I imagine this year Olly is going to preschool in heaven, all decked out with a rainbow backpack, braids in her hair, a cute little yellow bow, and miss-matched cute socks that I can’t do a darn thing about.
Complete Joy: That verse “the joy of the lord is my strength” (Nehemiah 8:10) - yeah that one keeps us going day in and out. Joy is NOT something we just get. It is something we choose to receive. No one, I mean no one, can take away your Joy. And for our home, this means tons of laughter, goofy dance moves, duck sound competitions, inside jokes, and sarcasm at its finest (sarcasm is a love language, right?).
Sprinkles of Sorrow: Life is hard! Sometimes there are people you wish you could talk to but their address has a zip code in heaven. Life is also full of disappointments and often doesn’t go the way you planned. It’s okay to feel the sorrow and let it move you, drive you, give you that oomph you need to make a change or work a faith muscle like never before.
Pinch of pumpkin spice: I love fall! If it could be fall year round, I would move to that place in a heartbeat. Fall means all things pumpkin here- so bring on the pumpkin spice lattes, fresh baked pumpkin bread, all the pumpkin decor, and visits to the pumpkin patch!
So how does your life’s recipe look today? Is it what you expected? If not, the good news is that recipes can always be modified with other ingredients. I highly recommend some laughter, faith, and a sprinkle of sweetness if your recipe is looking a little too salty, tart, or sour!