As my daughter poured her bowl of Cheerios, I watched her load up on the sugar.
“Mmmm,” she said. “I love when the milk is all good and you can scrape sugar off the bottom of the bowl.” I smiled, because I knew exactly what she was talking about.
Although, I have not eaten my Cheerios with sugar in years, I used to use too much sugar, because I thought it needed it. Children need everything to taste, “yummy” and if it does not, they want nothing to do with it.
When we serve our girls their dinner, we always place a small portion of vegetables on their plates. They usually smother the veggies in ranch. They claim to "hate" vegetables, but they have had to find a way to season them to their liking.
Sugar, ketchup, ranch…plain food sweetened up with “the good stuff.”
As adults, we realize that not everything that we eat necessarily has to taste good; it just has to get the job done. It has to give us fuel for the day and include beneficial nutrients that our bodies require.
We also realize that not everything that we do in life is going to be enjoyable, but we do it because it is necessary for some reason for another and we make the best of it. Some days life and the tasks at hand can seem plain, but we find ways to sweeten the experience.
Cleaning toilets and doing laundry are my least favorite things to do, but they have to be done, so when I clean the house, I make it enjoyable by listening to music.
When I exercise (which yes, I admit I don’t really enjoy) I choose to do something I like, ride my bike, take our dog for a walk so that I can enjoy the outdoors or I’ll put on music in the living room and dance with the kiddos.
Our kids often ask my husband if he “likes his job.” Even on the stressful days, he always answers, “yes” and he explains that without it we would not be able to live in our house, drive our cars or have food on the table.
Part of growing up, is learning to be grateful for the things that aren't always seasoned to our liking.
We smile when we do not feel up to it, we laugh at our mistakes, we work to support our family, we learn from our failures, we exercise and eat well for our health, we forgive when it's difficult, we show up when we don't feel like it, we sacrifice for our children and spouses, we focus on the good even when it's hard to find and we remember that...
Life is only as sweet as we make it.
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I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.
Ecclesiastes 7:14
When times are good, be happy; but when times are bad, consider: God has made the one as well as the other.
