I woke up this morning thinking about a friend whose mother flipped her pie-slice upside on her plate, just to spite her.
Each time, her mother baked her favorite pie, hope-filled, child-like faith convinced her to believe: "this time will be different!"
Unfortunately, her mother's bitter giggles rose higher than the freshly baked, sweet aroma-filled, buttery-crusted deliciousness. With her mother's spatula hovering above her empty plate, my friend knew, one very intentional flip of her mother's wrist would dash any hopes of a perfectly upright slice of pie.
Mush.
What's a girl to do when she's left with 'mush?" With the same, exact ingredients, it was sure to taste every bit as scrumptious as everyone else's perfectly upright slices circled around the table.
And, yet -
She couldn't taste the goodness for the messiness of it all...
I can sure relate to times when i felt as if someone else got served the perfect slice of life, while mine was flipped upside down, left for mush.
What about you, Friend?
The person who should have loved and respected you - left?
Your neighbor's marriage seems perfectly upright while yours has, literally, been flipped upside down?
The memory of your pain has left your life 'mush,' while the rest of the world looks perfectly whole?
You've been victimized, in the worst of ways?
Someone who should have protected you, betrayed you instead?
The One you trusted to serve you an 'upright' slice of goodness made a heartless, 'flip of the wrist' decision, that ruined your slice of life?,
Because of hurt and pain, you feel agitated: All. The. Time. Everyone pushes your anger button, because you've failed to deal with your past hurts?
Friend, no one is exempt from having been served a slice of upside down pie, in this broken and fallen world. It's time for God's people to act like God's people. It's time we extend grace and mercy when our flesh wants to lash out, flip a wrist, or worse. It's time to get healed up so we can serve wholeness. But, we can't serve wholeness until we allow God to heal our brokenness.
Perhaps, people aren't angry because we cut them off in traffic. Perhaps they are angry they never got a perfect slice of pie served to them and made their mind up: no one will ever disrespect them, ever again.
So, instead of looking around your table, only to find perfectly upright slices served to everyone, but you, why not allow the basic ingredients of your upside-down 'mush' to cause people to taste and see that the Lord is good! (see Psalm 34:8)
Even when disrespected, hurt, abused, or betrayed, God promises to be near to the brokenhearted. (see Psalm 34:18)
Seek Him, for healing from every painful part of your past.
Seek Him, in every hurtful part of your today.
Seek Him, for hope-filled tomorrows.
Seek Him and you will find Him. When you seek for Him with all of your heart, Dear-Hearts! (see Jeremiah 29:13)
Dear-Heart, I pray healing over every upside-down piece of pie you've ever been served.
May God:
Heal you, by His Holy power.
Equip you, by His Holy Spirit.
Anoint you, with His presence.
Go, courageously! Serve on, from your 'mush' pile.
Go, helping others heal, as you progress.. Because, God is most concerned about progressively helping each of us to live UPRIGHT in an upside-down world.
Taste and see that He is good. Especially when everything appears to be MUSH!