Sugar and Spice and Everything Nice...

This was shared with me today from another family adopting from Ethiopia with America World. This family is in a similar situation as far as the waiting goes--they've actually been waiting longer than us, so it's a very good reminder of what God's doing in our lives. I pray that you'll be encouraged as you read through these words:

How often do you catch yourself thinking how much better your life would be if you were just done with having to deal with that judge that keeps holding you back, or inefficient government personnel here in the U.S. or over in Ethiopia and could just go about building into your new child(ren)?

There are so many painful events that happen along the way, discouraging news that detonates during the days of waiting, and difficult relationships that we would gladly strain out of our lives if it were up to us. But could it be that the very elements that leave a bad taste in our mouth are essential ingredients in the recipe of our destiny?

When you look at the recipe for the sacred anointing oil in Exodus 30:22-25 we see that it calls for lots of fragrant cinnamon and fragrant cane. That's the good stuff-the sweet smelling stuff. Which one of us wouldn't want God to unload bucketloads of that in our lives and ease the process? Smooth the road? Quicken our arrival in Ethiopia? We're all big fans of the sugar and spice and everything nice.

However, the same recipe that calls for cinnamon and cane calls for an equal amount liquid myrrh. Myrrh is an extremely bitter substance. Nobody really likes the idea of myrrh with their cane. The two don't seem to go together very well. Who likes the smell of rejection and the stench of depression mixed in with success and a smooth road?

However, without the bitter, the sweet isn't fit for consumption. Every ingredient in the mix of our experience and calling from our Lord to adopt has been intentionally selected. When God is preparing you for what He has in store He combines the bitter, the sweet, and the bittersweet. Next He heats it up. Then He stirs it up. Finally He offers it up-for the good of others and the glory of Jesus.