If I only had a dime for every time that I heard someone tell me that “it’s going to be ok”. I would be filthy rich and I really would be doing alright wouldn’t I? It’s easier said than done. That person on the other side of your personal trial declaring that everything is going to end up fine. Thanks person. If only you were where I was.
I once offered to make a friend’s wedding cake. I had made one before. It just totally stressed me out so I didn’t make them often. So why did I offer to make this one? I think that it must be because I’m a glutton for punishment.
I was ahead of schedule with this cake the week of the wedding. So much, in fact, that I questioned why I ever hesitated to do more wedding cakes. The day of the wedding came and I was whipping buttercream and frosting those bad boys like a pro. I was feeling so confident.
Then it came time to roll out the fondant and over each tier. Mind you, this is my least favorite part of making a cake. I was kneading. I was rolling. I was ripping. Wait, I was WHAT?! The fondant melts, rips, and falls apart as if I’ve just been plucked from my kitchen and placed in a sauna to make this cake. I had not even considered the simmering 92 degree heat that day having an effect on the fondant.
I panicked.
My heart is racing. There are only TWO hours until I have to deliver this cake and it isn’t covered in fondant. Frankly, I wasn’t sure if I was going to live to see another day at the rate of which my mental meltdown was happening. I was now on the floor screaming the phrase “I DON’T KNOW WHAT TO DO” over and over with tears running down my face. My husband walks in, grabs my shoulders, and proclaims “EVERYTHING IS GOING TO BE OK!”.
Yeah right.
He then tells me that he is going to the store to purchase new fondant and that we are going to get this done together.
I want to make a point here. Here I am in the present looking back on this cake story and thinking about how truly awful that day was. Horrific, just terrible. But do you know something? Everything was ok.
I made it through.
I thought life itself was over that day. God has a way of taking end-of-the-world moments and turning them into good, doesn’t He? It’s not always something we see in the midst of the storm, but that we look back from a place of resolution and see. Times are hard. Trials are rough, but Jesus calms the waves. When we come out on the other side of that trial we see where Jesus’s hand was.
Like for instance, the day I made this cake. After my crisis ended and I was able to deliver the cake (covered in fondant- hubby to the rescue!), not a single person had any idea that it was different fondant and that I had such a hard time. The cake was a hit and tasted wonderful! I see how God got me through those last couple of hours. I see now that He wanted me to go through that in order to look back on it now and know that even in the roughest times, He got me through. I obviously didn’t have the strength or mental state to get through it on my own.
This goes for any trial or tribulation that you may go through. Job loss, financial troubles, health problems, marital problems, you name it. It can seem so dark at times with no way out. God pulls us through these very situations so that we can see how He has rescued us and then remember it for the next storm.
John 16:33 says, I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world. God never says that tribulations are easy. He says that we are going to have tribulation (or terrible experiences making a wedding cake). But the very same God that overcame the world through his son, Jesus is here to help you get through your stuff. Can I get an Amen to that?
You, my friend, will get through it.
By the way, if you’re ever considering, oh I don’t know, offering to make a wedding cake for a friend in 92 degree heat: be sure that you do a trial run to see if your fondant is going to hold up in that heat. Or even better, opt for no fondant. Ummm kay?
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
I read another Max Lucado book. (No real surprise there, eh?) It’s so good. Talk about tribulations. This book is called You’ll Get Through This and I think it’s one of my favorites of his. Full of stories of trials throughout the Bible, Max Lucado does a great job reminding the reader of ways that God does and can turn evil to good.
This book is encouraging, especially for those currently going through their own storms. The first time I read this book I was struggling with some serious things and it comforted me. It really did.
The one thing that he says over and over in this book is this:
You’ll get through this.
It won’t be painless.
It won’t be quick.
But God will use this mess for good.
Don’t be foolish or naive.
But don’t despair either.
With God’s help, you’ll get through this.
I may have despaired just a teensy bit in that cake trial. Ok, maybe more like a whole lot. We don’t have to despair. God has got this. We can lean on the promises that we find all throughout the Bible.
You can get You’ll Get Through This at Family Christian online or at your local store!
I was provided with a copy of this book for review purposes by Family Christian. All opinions expressed are 100% my own.