Yesterday the pastor on TV spoke of bitterness. He spoke of the damage it creates in our hearts and the pain it creates in our lives and our perspective. It really hit home for me.
Things haven't gone the way I'd planned in many areas of my life. It would be easy to slip into bitterness, wrap myself up in it like a cocoon and close up, feeling absolutely justified. Life can make you very bitter if you let it.
But, I see there is a very simple driver in my heart that won't let me.
It's my insatiable craving for sweetness. My God given sweet-tooth.
The Bible says that "for the happy life is a continual feast". There's just way too many sweet things in life to stay bitter.
Laughing with my kids in the kitchen making "tohhh-st" (thank you Nacho Libre), holding my grandbaby and watching her smile in her dreams, my puppy jumping on my bed like a teenager left alone for the weekend, the excitement watching my girlfriend on QVC for the first time . . . it's so so sweet.
I'm driven by my sweet-tooth and completely compelled to spit out the bitterness. Compared to the joy, the laughter, the beauty, the light, the clarity, the satisfaction . . . well, there is no comparison.
I carefully peel back the cupcake paper liner revealing another helping of relationship, thankful for the goodness, the kindness, the sacredness . . . and glad I've learned this about myself. I believe life was meant to be sweet.
No matter the road. No matter the trial. No matter the possibility of bitterness.
Thank you God for giving me a hunger for sweetness. It keeps me ever vigilent for the next sweet fix and always grateful for the moments I am able to revel in it.
