Life Comes Out Good

When God gets through mixing a Christian’s experiences together, life comes out good.

My friend and co-worker sent me a story illustration from the grade 2 Bible book this week, which was especially well-timed because I was having a hard time determining what to write about this week for an update.

The story was similar to a lesson I had previously done at an elementary assembly. Each teacher received an ingredient that would be used to make cake, and they sampled them in front of the students. The teachers were great at reacting to the bitterness of baking soda and cocoa, the ickiness of raw eggs, the greasiness of oil, and the dryness of raw flour. And they reacted in delight to the ingredients coming together to make delicious cupcakes.

The story from the grade 2 Bible book was the same, with a baking grandmother explaining to her grandson that the hard things in his life would come together for the good of him as a believer. She says, “When God gets through mixing a Christian’s experiences together–the bitter, the sweet, the happy, the sad–life comes out good.”

Serving remotely and not knowing the next steps for my family are mostly hard for me. God gives me glimpses of the good like days where my mom requires no lift help and my body gets a physical reprieve and we all get a little shot of hope for healing. There are sweet moments when all seven of us can be together for meals and puzzles since I am in the States. But, finding a rhythm and routine with remote work has been difficult. I’m having to learn how to connect with a team and teach science from afar with bad internet.

The baking story is a reminder that the good moments are just glimpses of the good that will prevail. God is bringing these experiences together for my good and His glory. The cake that God is baking is absolutely worth the experiences that don’t feel so delicious in the moment.

Another friend and coworker wrote of how this is playing out on the field right now: “About five years ago in Raa, a believer named Willis was dealing with a series of burdens – he was being persecuted and was eventually exiled from the village. He went to Gu. Now, Gu has a church and just finished the Phase 1 Gospel teaching. Willis has been reconciled with his village. Because of the testimony that came from Willis’s burdens, six villages in the area are asking for the Gospel message to be taught to them.” Such a sweet outcome despite the bitter and sad ingredients!