Struggling to Emerge

I enjoy cooking since I started learning to cook this past summer. A few days ago, I went to the grocery and I decided to attempt to make meringue cookies. The recipe I found only called for a few ingredients so I thought to myself “Well this should be easy…”

Think again.

The first time I attempted to make the meringue cookies, I beat the eggs and cream of tartar. The next step said to add sugar. I did not read thoroughly enough, because I added the sugar all at once. The meringue consequently came out runny. The sugar was supposed to be repeatedly added in very small amounts and then mixed in.

After I made this mistake, I realized that transformations in our life are analogous. Sometimes we ask God to change our financial situation, our emotional situation, our mental situation, our physical condition, etc. We get frustrated when He does not always answer our prayers immediately and sometimes we attribute it to God not listening or not caring about us.

The truth is that transformations in our lives need to be gradual, just as I needed to add very small amounts of sugar in at a time. Sometimes if our lives change too much too quickly, it is more challenging to us. Ultimately, God has the perfect timing and He DOES care for you and He DOES listen to you. He is with you every step of the way, even when you may not feel Him.

Sometimes the struggles and obstacles in our lives are exactly what we need to grow and to move forward. I read a story about a man who saw a butterfly struggling to emerge from a coccoon. He wanted to help it, so he cut the coccoon. However, the butterfly was not able to fly because without the struggle to emerge, it did not have the strength it would have had if the man had not cut the coccoon. The man thought of the immediate solution to the problem he saw in front of him, but God sees the entire picture of our lives. He has a plan for us and He will never leave us nor forsake us.